Cuts & Scrapes, Smokes & Vapes
by xinaidebenihime
Summary: Bruised and battered, a blonde-haired young woman encounters a pink-haired fight-hungry pyromanic, who might be just what she needs to get back up on her feet, despite their seemingly rocky history. Submission for NaLu Week 2015. Smoke/Need. NaLu. Slight OOC. Modern AU. M for mature themes and slight lemon.
1. Smoke&Need

**_A/N:_** _So I know this is a little late, but I've been busy and thought I'd write one once I have the time…which just so happens to be now XD. This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic—as well as my first NaLu week—and I thought I'd post it on fanfiction as well._

 _**Pairing(s):** Natsu/Lucy_

 ** _Prompt(s):_** _Smoke/Need_

 ** _Rating:_** _M — includes adult themes/actions as well as mentions of violence. NSFW._

 ** _Universe:_** _Modern AU_

 ** _Summary:_** _Bruised and battered, a blonde-haired young woman encounters a pink-haired fight-hungry pyromanic, who might be just what she needs to get back up on her feet._

 ** _Word Count:_** _3,812_

* * *

Her jaw hurt.

Scratching at the dried blood with her torn nails, Lucy treaded down the deserted street that led to her house. This late at night she'd be more surprised if she ran into someone than not. The town was dead after midnight.

She hissed as she prodded at the tender spot, the bone there was definitely bruised—much to her chagrin, but better it be bruised than broken, right? Her nails hurt like a bitch, she'd gotten a few good hits of her own. She'd at least scratched his cornea, if not blinded him with the tips of her fake nails before they'd ripped them off. That hadn't been pleasant.

She was just glad they hadn't done more than they had.

Her head snapped up as small drops of rain started to pitter on her shoulders. It only took seconds after for the dam to break in the clouds, nearly soaking Lucy in an instant.

She ran for cover, clutching her purse to her chest. Panting slightly, her hand found the glass of a closed convenience store. Leaning against the window, her hand began to slip, and in losing her brace her shoulder slammed into the bulletproof wall.

She hissed, cradling her shoulder. Eyes parting slightly she noticed the bloody handprint she'd left on the glass.

Where the hell did that come from?

She slid to the pavement, resting her back against the brick below the window. Opening her purse, she pulled a pack of cigarettes and hastily stuck one in her mouth fumbling with the lighter to get it lit. The dollarstore one she had just didn't seem to want to work for her today as tears pricked her eyes.

Couldn't she just have something go right today?

 _Chink._

The flame from a zippo lighter appeared suddenly in front of her face, and Lucy was so desperate to relax, she didn't even question its sudden appearance. Inhaling deeply she allowed the tingling to take over her body, easing the pain in her muscles and joints. She let out a faint 'ah' as she exhaled, head hanging between her bent knees.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Lucy let her head fall back, eyes focusing in on the zippo's owner. His hands were wrapped in bloodied white cotton with a matching large bandage over his lower torso. The black shorts he was wearing were licked with designs of blazing fire, and a scaley scarf hung low on his hips—as if his shorts weren't dangerously low enough already. His chest was bare and a scar decorated the lower right side of his neck. Bright pink hair spiked out messily in all directions, held out of his blazingly dark onyx eyes by a pair of goggles. Darker scruff dusted his jaw and upper neck, making his hardened expression that much more fierce.

Lucy's head fell back into her knees, "I do not have the energy to deal with you today Dragneel."

"I can see that, Luce." Lucy could almost see the smirk on his face his voice sounded so cocky. His arms would be crossed over his bare chest, probably leaning against the wall looking down at her from underneath a few tufts of loose hair.

"Don't call me that. You lost that right." She nearly snarled, looking back up at him. Sure enough he was in the exact same pose she'd imagined, only difference is he now had a thin cylinder in one of his hands.

"And you rub it in every time we run into each other," he mumbled, wrapping his lips around the end of the cylinder and taking a deep breath. She recognized what it was now; he'd gotten an electronic cigarette.

"Stopped smoking, huh?" she muttered, taking another drag of her death stick. She heard him let out a grunt.

"Why you still carrying around that lighter then?" she spat, taking in the design. He held the lighter between his thumb and index and middle fingers, applying pressure to force flick the lid open and light it before spinning it around and closing it up again.

"You know me," he started, "can't leave the house without something I can light on fire in my pocket." He absently continued the trick, staring intently at the fire each time.

Groaning, Lucy brought her knees down and crossed her legs, flicking some ash from her cigarette before taking another inhale.

"Besides," he muttered, "you know why I can't throw it away."

"Well I don't know why not…you seemed content with throwing more precious things away without a second thought," she growled, glaring up at him fiercely. She noticed now the black eye he sported and trails of blood obviously smeared by fingertips on his neck and chest.

 _What had he been up to?_

She shook her head, deciding not to care and pulled herself to her feet, flicking the butt to the ground and stomping on it with the heel of her foot. She ground it in a few extra unnecessary times before striding past the man.

"Thanks for the light," she murmured.

He caught her arm in a firm grip, and before she knew what she was doing she'd turned around and decked him in the face. The pain in her knuckles that had previously been dulled by the endorphins now running through her system erupted, engulfing them in a searing fire.

"Fucking christ Heartfilia," he snapped, "what the hell was that for?!"

"Don't fucking grab me asshole," she strode up to him, into the light of the lamp post. The closer she got, the more she had to crane her neck to look at him.

 _When had he gotten so tall?_

Granted I guess, the last time she'd seen him was nearly half a year ago, and when she had she'd been sitting like the beginning of the encounter they were having now…but it was still a shock to see just how much taller than him he'd gotten since a year ago.

At seeing her in the light, his eyes softened considerably. They scanned her all over as he craned his neck to look at the damage that had been inflicted on her. Taking in the gash on her shoulder—so that's where the blood for the handprint had come from—and the bruising on her jaw, his look turned into one of pure murderous rage.

His eyes then focused in on places that she couldn't see or didn't know were injured.

He brushed bangs away from her forehead, igniting her nerve endings and sending a shuddering wave down her spine and spreading over her shoulder blades. His gaze alone always had that effect on her, and the delicacy he was taking with each inch of her skin amplified said effect tenfold.

Tentatively, he brought his fingertips up to tilt her chin up, guiding instead of pushing so as to not cause her any pain. She extended her neck, giving his eyes access to the damage inflicted on her jaw.

His thumb traced the split on her lower lip.

"C'mon," he grumbled, taking her hand and pulling her into the alley, "lets get you cleaned up."

She yanked her arm away from him, stopping in her tracks. "I don't need you to take care of me. I can take care of myself."

His head turned and he stared at her, eyes filled with fire.

"I know."

He extended his hand to her, palm up and fingers outstretched.

"You wanna feel better, right?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Then let's go."

She took his hand.

—

He led her into his dimly lit apartment. Of course that's where they were going, he lived only a block from where she'd stopped to smoke.

Well…more like nearly collapsed and needed to recuperate and have a smoke to calm the fuck down. Same difference.

Shades drawn, and lights out, the only source of illumination emanated from his fireplace. Clothes were strewn all over his couch and floor, hanging on tall lamp posts, the windowsill, the back of his door.

 _Man he's let his place go to shit._

He disappeared in the direction of his kitchen before returning with a basin full of warm water, a washcloth and a first aid kit. He jutted his chin out toward the fireplace, and she dragged her way over there to take a seat. Within moments, a furry blue creature hopped down from the above mantle and nestled in her lap.

She smiled smally, "I missed you too Happy."

The cat purred as she scratched underneath his chin and behind his ears. The longer she rubbed, the louder he got. She swore editors could use him as an motorboat audio file.

Setting the water basin and kit down, the two were joined by the pinkette. Pulling Happy from Lucy's lap, he relocated the blue feline to a balled up shirt on the floor to his right. He then scooted forward and handed her an elastic.

"Tie your hair up."

She obeyed, watching the flicks of fire dance in his eyes as she did so. Once her hair was tightly secured, he wrung out the excess water that had collected in the towel into the basin before gently touching it to her jaw.

The warm water relaxed some of the tensed muscles in her face, but didn't do anything to diminish the pain she'd felt. After a few strokes, the cloth was gone, fingers in place of them prodding at the tender flesh gently.

"Not dislocated or broken, that's good."

"No shit Sherlock," she spat, "I wouldn't be able to talk if that were the case."

He ignored her remark, moving the cloth to her forehead. He proceeded to continue washing her forehead and mouth. His fingers trailed down the column of her throat through the cloth, traced the dip and length of her collarbone, dipped halfway down her chest.

He pulled at her hands, washing the blood from her arms, palms, fingertips—he took special care there to not agitate the tender nail beds. The edges were ragged, but she was lucky none of her _actual_ nails had been ripped off.

When he'd finished with her last pinky he gestured for her to turn around, and she complied.

"Take it off," he ordered.

Her head snapped around, "Oh no way in hell—"

"I said take it off Lucy."

"If you think that even for a second I am getting naked in front of—"

"Nothing I haven't seen before," he stated bluntly, arms crossed in front of his chest. He dunked the cloth back into the now pink basin of warm water and wrung it out again.

Biting the inside of her cheek—since her lip currently was unavailable for more abuse—Lucy reluctantly pulled at her tattered shirt, but hissed as she found herself unable.

"What is it?"

She whimpered slightly, "The fabric is stuck."

She felt the warm cloth lay across her back, water soaking into the fabric. She hissed slightly as he rubbed, detaching the seams of the ripped fabric from the raw, exposed flesh of her back. She felt his fingers wrap around the bottom seam of her shirt and pull it up to her shoulders. She pulled it over her head as she felt him undo the clasp of her bra, letting it fall open.

She cradled the fabric to her chest, keeping her breasts supported now that the band wasn't doing that for her. She felt his fingers trace the lashes that had been left on her, broken in the middle by the thick band her bra sported. Three lashes that looked like six.

"Son of a bitch," she heard him mumble.

He proceeded to clean out the cuts, pausing every so often as Lucy cringed, curling into a ball around her knees. Her forehead pressed so hard into her knees she was surprised it hadn't phased right through them. Her nail-less fingers dug into the palms of her hands.

Once he'd finished cleaning, he pulled her up to a standing position. She was still clinging to her clothes to cover herself and there was something about her posture that hinted at more than just maintaining modesty, or being shy.

"Show me," he told her.

"Natsu," she breathed, looking down and away. Tears pricked her eyes that he wouldn't have failed to see, even if they hadn't fallen seconds later. She clutched the clothes tighter as his fingers found her wrists.

"Lucy."

She let her hands fall, dropping the wad of cloth.

Free from her clothing, Lucy's breasts were streaked with blood. Punctures enveloped the top and bottom of each nipple, dried blood marking their exact location. Natsu's breath hitched in his throat as he struggled not to slam his fist through a concrete wall.

"Did…" he struggled, "did he…" Natsu's gaze darted to the zipper of her jeans.

"No," she choked, folding her arms in front of her mounds to hide them again, "he didn't get that far. I tried to claw his eyes out first…did enough damage for them to whip my back and dump me on a corner."

Lucy took the cloth from Natsu's hands, "I can do this one myself."

He averted his gaze as she proceeded to clean the blood from her chest, though looking away seemed pointless since he'd seen it all before, and just now. He knew she would prefer the privacy of a more intimate act, there was just a line that he wouldn't cross when it came to things like that.

Lucy watched as Natsu disappeared into his bedroom. He reappeared a few moments later with a blue and purple flowing t-shirt. He gripped it tightly in his hands and she could see the reluctance on his face as he pried his fingers open and offered the shirt to her.

She took it, letting it fall open. Her eyes widened as she flipped it over and ran her thumbs over the seams, "I've been looking for this forever!"

Her head snapped up to Natsu, taking in his guilty expression. "You've had it this whole time?"

Natsu swallowed and looked down at his feet, kicking at the ground with his heels. She didn't need more of a confession than that.

"This is my favourite shirt Natsu, why in the world would you—"

"It was my favourite too," he admitted, looking back up at her, "it was the one that smelled most like you."

Her face softened slightly before hardening again, "So you toss me aside and yet do this?"

His eyes hardened again, "I was trying to protect yo—"

"I don't need protecting you dense pyromaniac!" she screamed, pulling at the shirt to get it over her head. Unfortunately, it was more difficult than she'd first thought it would be with the freshly wrapped wounds.

"Here," he said softly, "let me—"

"Don't," she choked, not looking at him.

But she let him.

He hooked his thumbs under the seam of the back of the shirt, slowly and gently pulling the fabric over the wounds. He repeated the same action at the front with his fingers instead of his thumbs, taking extra care to keep an inch of space between his hands and her chest.

"Lucy…Acnologia…he—"

"I don't need your excuses," she swallowed, plopping back down in front of the fire.

"It's not an excuse if you would just listen to me," he pleaded, sitting down opposite her. Happy hopped into his lap and he absentmindedly began stroking his sky-coloured fur.

"I know everything, Natsu."

Shock filled his face as the pink-haired man stared at her. Running his hands through his disheveled hair, Natsu pulled at it, a growl building low in his chest.

"How…how could you do this!?" he yelled, hopping to his feet and ripping the goggles from his head. He hurled them at the opposite wall before returning his fingers to his locks, tugging at them again.

"How could I do this?" Lucy snarled, following suit and standing up again. "How could _I_ do this!? How _dare_ you say that to me Natsu Dragneel! How _dare_ you! Do you know what you did to me? Do you know what coming home to that note and nothing else did!? Do you know how that made me feel? How could _I_? How could _you!_ You _inconsiderate, unfeeling, heartless_ piece of—"

"Inconsiderate?" he repeated, advancing toward her, "Unfeeling?"

"How could you be anything else after up and leaving without so much as a word? And after that night…" she trailed off, remembering the bliss of waking up only to find that piece of paper on the pillow next to her.

"Heartless?"

His voice broke as he said that word, and his hand flew to his eyes, hiding the shine that she could hear in his voice. She watched his voice box move as his jaw contracted, most definitely swallowing his tears.

"I told you when I first found out that I didn't care about the risk, and you made the decision yourself without even _talking_ to me about it first! Why didn't you say anything? You first promised me that we would make these decisions together! I would've—" he cut her off.

"I didn't think," he whispered.

"You didn't think what? Didn't think that I was strong enough? Didn't think I deserved to know that you were leaving me alone? Didn't th—" he cut her off again.

He captured her lips with his, gripping her hip with one hand and neck firmly with the other, effectively silencing her rambling. He nipped at her bottom lip, drawing it into his mouth and sucking softly before letting it retract back. Ignoring the ache of her lower lip, Lucy could only succumb to his possession of her mouth as he traced her teeth and filled her mouth with his tongue. His hands found her cheeks as she responded, moving her lips with his and kissing him back as he retreated, peppering each one delicately.

He choked, resting his forehead against hers, and breathed, "I didn't think I would fall as hard for you as I did."

That sentence rendered her speechless. She stared at him when he pulled back, his eyes finding hers again.

"Lucy, I am so in love with you I would rather leave than be as selfish as I want to be see you die because of some stupid mistake I made as a teen."

Lucy fell into Natsu's chest and he held her close, "But to see that you'd gotten involved even after doing what I thought would be best for you…and seeing you hurt…"

"I was trying to find out how I could get you free," she whispered.

Natsu shook his head, "There's no way for me to be free."

Lucy looked up at him, "There is."

He stared down at her incredulously, "No way, Acnologia would let me go. That's not in his nature."

"He'll free you from the fighting Natsu, under the condition that you fight and win the next Underground Championship, and leave all the winnings to him."

Natsu stared at her slackjawed, "No way."

"Acnologia figures that if you beat the runner up, he'll want to join him in hopes of winning the next year. So he'll have your replacement, and the money from the match. Win, win."

Natsu breathed out, falling to his knees. Lucy fell with him, catching his head in her stomach as he fell forward. Running her fingers through his hair, Lucy hushed him as he cried.

Tears of relief.

"What can I do for you, Lucy? I..I need to repay you…is there anything you need? I mean…" his voice cracked as he covered his face with his hands.

She soothed him until he calmed down. She found them both laying down by the fireplace, her back to it. She watched the light flicker, brightening different parts of his face and hair while leaving the rest in shadow. Her fingers trailed over the muscles and features of his face as he relaxed.

His eyed opened finally to focus down on her. The gaze that had always made her shy in the past now igniting a fire in her lower belly that needed to be quenched.

She'd been without him for far too long.

This time, her lips were the ones to claim his as she began slowly. She kissed his top an bottom lips individually a few times before he responded, rolling on top of her and settling between her legs. She wrapped one around his hips as her left hand found his face, thumb on his throat and fingers on his lower jaw. His mouth broke away from hers as they trailed along her throat, sucking and biting, hard enough to leave a mark, but soft enough to further awaken her ache down south. He pulled back, examining the mark he had just left before returning his lips to her neck and rasping in her ear.

"Mine."

"All yours," she breathed, relaxing into his possession as he linked her hands with his, stretching them above her head. He let her go then, gripping her lower ribcage with his hands and sliding them upward, pulling the silky fabric over her shirt up and over her head, exposing her chest to him again, this time in an entirely different kind of vulnerability.

Returning to her face, he licked the split of her bottom lip before kissing it tenderly. He then proceeded to mouth and nip down her neck, across her upper chest, and then down lower.

Gently taking her large mounds into his hands, Natsu trailed along the punctures with the tip of his tongue, effectively sealing the wounds with his mark. He then proceeded to suck the nip into his mouth, nibbling gently before flicking the tip of his tongue over the nub, eliciting a deliciously loud moan from Lucy as she bucked her hips. He repeated the same action on the opposite breast before returning to her ear huskily.

"You never answered me earlier," he whispered, trailing his fingers down her side to grip her rear and grind his growing lower groin against her.

"Wh—what?" she stuttered.

This side of Natsu was one that she shyly admitted she loved. In normal situations, she would usually take the lead and make the decisions. But when it came to seducing her and knowing how to please her and light her body on fire…Natsu was a master.

"I asked you what I could give you as payment for my freedom," he nipped at her ears and mouthed along her jaw.

She gasped out an answer, that Natsu heard, but really wanted to hear her say again.

"What was that?" he asked, dragging his fingers up her thigh, thumb dangerously close to her core.

"You Natsu…I only need you."

She felt him grin against her neck.

"Anything for you, Lucy."

* * *

 ** _Hope you guys liked it! Lemme know what you think!_**

 ** _\- xinaidebenihime_**


	2. Shine

**_A/N:_** _Well, I wasn't expecting to continue this, it was originally intended as a oneshot. But since I forgot to mark it as complete—which I swear I had done…seriously—I think I'll do some more, if not all, of the prompts a little out of order and turn this into a multichap. This is kinda going to jump around a little bit, but it shouldn't be too hard to follow._

 _Thank you to CharonLumia for the review!_

 ** _Prompt:_** _Shine_

 ** _Word Count:_** _4,491_

* * *

Natsu had always been strong.

From the age of seven, he had been referred to as a fiery ball of destruction by his foster family. Constantly butting heads with his foster brother, Gray, had left both of them begging for kickboxing lessons and then effectively breaking everything within a ten meter radius of their sparring area. Their sister, Erza, took on the roll of their mediator with her own skills, effectively ending their destruction with a roundhouse kick to their heads.

When he'd been transferred out of that home in Magnolia and overseas—bleugh—to an orphanage in Arbaless, those skills came in handy. Forced to defend himself from his new housemates—they were in no way his family—Natsu often sported deep wounds, most of which would've been worse had he not known how to counterattack.

Point being, he'd been fighting since he was a kid, and when his long lost brother had found him and brought him back to Ishgar, he was at first ecstatic.

Until Zeref's boss had caught whiff of Natsu's skills.

Offering him everything he had ever wanted—including the location of his nakama—Acnologia roped Natsu into fighting for him, and it didn't take him long to become Ishgar's up and coming underground fight star.

And though Zeref had protested at first, he soon saw that it had made Natsu blissfully happy. So he supported his brother in his enjoyment of the sport—despite how illegal the whole thing was—and did so for years.

Natsu loved fighting. He loved making his muscles scream. He loved feeling the sweat roll down his back and drip from his brow, along the line of his goggles. He was addicted to the ache, the adrenaline, the thrill. He didn't want anything else, and this was the life he adored, this was everything he had wanted.

Everything he'd thought he'd wanted.

At the ripe age of nineteen, in an uncharacteristic decision, Natsu found himself wandering out of his apartment and down to the convenience store around the corner. With the late night fights, Natsu was nocturnal, though you wouldn't know it from the shade of his skin. With the life he was living, to make sure he'd get his needed amount of Vitamin D, Zeref had installed sunlamp light bulbs in his training studio.

Of course he would still go outside, but that was usually in the early morning before he went to bed. Once in awhile, one of his fights would get cancelled and he would be able to sleep normally and enjoy the day. He hadn't been outside in the afternoon in months.

And why he hadn't more often before today, he'd had no idea.

He'd been wandering through the isles, looking for some FireJerkey, when his ears perked and head snapped up at the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. Frantically looking around for the source, he managed to catch a flash of blonde hair passing the store window. Seizing the opportunity, he dropped the items he had collected in the middle of the store before sprinting outside, ignoring the owner yelling at him.

She was singing.

It was a song he he'd heard before, but didn't know the words to. He knew the melody though and started to hum along with her, closing his eyes as he followed. He kept a safe distance from her until she disappeared into a bus.

Hoping to see her again, Natsu would browse the convenience store around the same time, every day for the next month. Even on the days where he had to fight, he would set an alarm, listen to her sing, and then head back to bed. He'd discovered that she headed to a nearby Indian restaurant, presumably for lunch every day. Did she work nearby?

On multiple occasions, Natsu would try to work up the courage to talk to this girl. He could take down guys twice his size, but talking to the girl who's face he'd only caught glimpses of terrified him.

What a wimp he was.

On this particular day though, Natsu discovered that he hadn't been as stealth as he thought he had, because when heading around the corner from the convenience store like he usually did when following her, instead of continuing to listen to her lovely voice, he found himself pulled into an alley and pressed up against a wall with a gun to his neck.

"Why have you been following me, asshole?" she snarled.

Natsu could only gape.

She was stunning.

Before him stood a goddess. Long blonde haired flowed down her back and shoulders, framing a heart shaped face with defined cheekbones. Slim but strong arms flexed to keep him in place and he didn't fail to notice curves that made his blood boil. She was only an inch or so shorter than him, but since he'd been pressed up against the wall, he was currently at a higher angle and had to exercise extreme restraint to only notice her curves and not gawk.

But none of that compared to her face.

Dark eyebrows accented brilliant brown eyes. Framed with think dark lashes, this woman's gaze burned with a fire Natsu had never seen before and he couldn't stop staring at them. A small nose led down to her dark lips that were currently pulled back into a defensive sneer.

Oh yeah…he wasn't supposed to be staring right now. She had a gun to his neck.

Who's presence she made more prominent when she didn't get an answer.

Pressing the cold metal deeper into his windpipe, she repeated her question. "Why. Have you. Been following me?"

Swallowing hard, Natsu began to stutter.

"'m s-sorry," he gulped, holding his hands up, "I-I just heard y-your voice…and th-thought you sounded s-so beautiful I had to h-hear it again."

She scanned his features, not seeming entirely convinced, but she lessened the pressure at his throat.

"I-I've been trying to work up the courage to talk to you for weeks…" he scratched the back of his neck, grinning shyly, "but I always chickened out. I'm sorry that I freaked you out. I didn't mean to."

The gun disappeared.

She backed up to get a better look at him. Sporting the cuts and bruises of yesterday's fight, Natsu wouldn't be surprised if she ran for the hills and called the cops on him. He was a mess. A beat up, unshaved, tattered mess who had no business talking to a woman like her.

She opened her mouth a few times to say something, but seemed unable to find the words. Her brow furrowed, and her lower lip jutted out; it was so adorable Natsu wanted to kiss it.

…wait, what?

Deep in thought, she nearly jumped when an alarm went off. Snapped out of the daze, the blonde pulled a phone out of her pocket and checked the screen before shoving the gun back into her purse hastily.

"Shit…I'm gunna be late," he heard her murmur, taking off in the direction of her bus. Staring after her, it was only after she disappeared around another corner that he noticed she'd dropped her lunch on the ground when she pinned him to the wall.

Snatching it up off the ground, Natsu sprinted after her, holding the sealed container like a football. He skidded to a halt, managing to catch her on the stairs. She turned to him, a mixture of confusion and shock on her features at seeing him again.

Panting hard, he tossed the bag to her just as the doors closed. Catching it, she stared at the bag, and then back to him as the bus shifted into motion.

"I love your voice!" he shouted as the bus drove away.

His heart slowed, and his body slumped as he trudged back to his apartment.

He'd definitely blown it.

After losing his fight that night, Natsu hadn't bothered to set an alarm. Sporting a few extra wounds than usual, Natsu headed down to the convenience store the next night just before closing to grab the heaviest overt he counter painkillers he could find.

Nearly slamming them down on the counter with a large bill, Natsu was surprised when the usually silent—but grumpy—store owner started talking to him. He was so surprised he didn't catch what the guy said.

"Say again?"

The clerk rolled his eyes, "I said, it's rude to keep a guy waiting."

Natsu's brow furrowed, "I dunno what you're talking about dude."

Ringing through Natsu's purchase and handing him his change, the clerk rummaged around in a drawer behind the counter before handing him a small pink envelope.

Confused, Natsu blinked blankly at the man behind the counter.

"When you didn't come in today and then head out when she walked by, she came in and asked me to give this to you when you came in next. She seemed a little worried that you weren't here."

Still confused, Natsu opened up the envelope and pulled out a single piece of white cardstock. On it in black ink, were five carefully scripted words.

 _I love your voice too._

…..

And that was all it took.

Every day after that, he would wait outside for her at the convenience store. Come onto the bus with her, walk her to her work—she was an intern at the Magnolia Public Library—and then bus back home for him to sleep. She didn't ask about the cuts or scrapes, and he didn't ask about her gun. It was kind of an unspoken agreement between the two.

He got to know her. She admitted to coming from a wealthy family, but running away after her mother died, unable to handle the emotional abuse and neglect from her father any longer. Happier now on her own in a single apartment, she talked about the books that lined her walls and how much she loved working at the library. She wanted to read and write and eventually become an author, and being employed in a place where she was surrounded by them was her own personal heaven.

Though reluctant, she'd managed to weasel a lot of information out of him. He ended up telling her about losing his parents in a fire when he was young—or so he had been told by Igneel, his first foster father who he'd lost when he was seven. He told her about Gildarts, Gray and Erza who had come after Igneel, and then how he'd been moved to Arbaless. He'd never found them again and it broke his heart.

The one thing he did manage to keep a secret from her, was the fighting. Which was good because he knew that if she found out about it, or they about her…it wouldn't end well.

They'd developed and undergone this routine so many times, and it felt so natural that it hadn't hit Natsu that he still didn't know her name.

"You know," he started one day, after she grabbed her lunch from the Indian food counter, "I still don't know your name."

The blonde blinked at him and then burst out laughing. His eyes narrowed, "What's so funny?"

She looked up at him, smile gleaming, "I didn't even notice."

Straightening up after keeling over from laughter, she held out her hand, "My name is, Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Lucy Heartfilia," he repeated, sounding out the syllables. Her name rolled off his tongue like velvet and he found himself wanting to say it again. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as he repeated her name again, and he swore he saw her swallow.

Snapping out of his trance, he took her hand with his, "Natsu Dragneel."

Her fingers were soft, they felt like silk against his palm. He suddenly felt self conscious of all the scars and callouses on the pads of his fingers and wrist, wondering what she'd think about them. He hadn't ever really minded them before—they came in handy when it came to combat, less blisters, less pain—but he found himself sweating now…this was the first time they'd touched since she'd pinned him to the wall a few months ago.

"Natsu," she smiled, sounding out the two syllables. "That means summer, right?"

He blinked before grinning his usual wide, dorky grin, "Yeah. You're the first one to ask me that since Igneel."

"It's fitting." The two head for the door and out onto the street.

"How so?" Natsu asked, looking over to her. She was more cheerful today than usual; maybe it was just the weather.

"'cause when you smile, you shine like the sun in summer."

She gasped and covered her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at him…clearly baffled at what she had just admitted to him. Cocking his head to one side as she blushed and looked at the ground, Natsu found her free hand with his, waiting for her to look back up at him.

When she did, Natsu voiced the most sincere thing he had ever said in his life.

"Lucy…when you smile, you shine with a glow brighter than the stars."

—–

It was normal once in awhile for one of them not to show up.

Natsu would usually leave or receive a note from the convenience store clerk as to whether he was sick, or if Lucy wasn't going to be around. It was to ease their worry when it came to wondering if the other was okay since they didn't really have another method of communicating…which seemed kind of stupid to Natsu now that he hadn't see her in about a week.

He usually saved smoking for nighttime since it made his heart race and kept him up when he was trying to sleep during the day, but with how long it had been since he'd seen her and the amount of anxiety he felt, Natsu felt like he was entitled to a daytime smoke.

Sitting on the curb and bouncing his knee, Natsu stuck a cigarette in his mouth and attempted to light the damn thing.

The matchbook he had just didn't seem to like him today. Usually he and fire had a mutual understanding—he'd even taken to fire-breathing and juggling as a personal hobby when he wasn't training or fighting—he was fascinated by the stuff. But today just wasn't his day as he nearly singed his hair.

He ran a hand through the locks, they were getting pretty long; long enough to tie back into a ponytail probably. He couldn't spike them up anymore, which was getting to be a problem when he didn't have his goggles on his head. The hair would flop in his face and make it impossible to see every move.

"Man I need a haircut," he mumbled, trying and failing to light his last match.

"Well burning it off isn't the way to do it."

A Zippo lighter with an intricate red dragon design invaded his field of vision, effectively lighting the dried tobacco as he inhaled. Once the metal had snapped shut, he raised his vision to see the origin of the voice.

It was Lucy.

Blonde, smiling and beautiful, she stood above him, toying with the lighter. He immediately sprung to his feet and wrapped his arms around her securely.

Blinking, it took her a few seconds to hug him back. Her palms flattened against his shoulders. Her stomach moved slightly as she giggled.

"Well hello to you too," she laughed, melting into his embrace. He radiated a heat that warmed her to her very core; she could stay there forever in his arms. She kicked herself mentally for never having hugged him before now, his touch was intoxicating.

"I was worried about you," he murmured, holding her a bit tighter before pulling back. Hands on her shoulders and then trailing down to her hands, he looked her over. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I'm okay. I just had a really bad fever and couldn't get out of bed. I tried to find the number of the convenience store so I could call the guy and have him tell you, but I couldn't for the life of me find the number."

Natsu heard her alarm go off. Pulling out her phone and unlocking the screen, Lucy ceased the abhorrent racket that was coming from the small handheld electronic. She tinkered away with it for a bit before—

Natsu snatched it from her.

"Hey!"

Quickly maneuvering through her phone, Natsu pulled up her contacts, input his phone number, and sent a message to his own cellphone. He did this within a manner of seconds before handing it back to her.

"Now if you ever need me, you can just call," he smiled. She gawked at the phone and blushed slightly, seeming like she wanted to say something.

Shyly, she handed the Zippo to him.

"Wh…?"

"I want you to have it," she mumbled, grabbing his hand and wrapping his fingers around the lighter, "though the fact that you smoke is something that'll make me worry, I wont stop you."

He ran his thumb over the dragon on the surface, his grin growing even wider. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek gently before pocketing the small piece of metal.

"Thank you, Lucy."

"No problem," she breathed, fingers coming up to touch the skin he'd just kissed.

After leaving her at the library, his phone buzzed.

 ** _If you ever need, you can call me as well._**

 _…._

Natsu hadn't planned to take her up on that offer…but he didn't really have a choice.

He'd taken a beating. A bad one. With the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins, he hadn't been aware of the extent of his injuries until he was already at home with his heart at its resting rate.

It was then his head began to swim. He probably had a concussion.

He fumbled around for his phone. She was the only person he really had in his phone that meant enough to him to put her on speed dial.

He punched in seven.

After a few rings, she picked up.

"Natsu?"

Her voice was husky, he'd definitely woken her up. Hell…it was four o'clock in the morning she'd be crazy to be up this late.

I guess that made him crazy.

After having his throat constricted by his opponents hands, Natsu's voice was raspy, and it hurt him to talk.

"Hey, Luce," he forced, coughing, "I need…I need you to do me a favor."

"Natsu…you don't sound good…are you okay?" Worry filled her voice and he could almost hear her heart start to race.

"Lucy," he swallowed, sitting up on his couch so he wouldn't fall asleep, "I need you to come over."

He knew it was late, and he knew it was asking a lot for her to trek across town at four in the morning just for him. He expected her to tell him to piss off the way she usually did when he asked something ridiculous of her. They really had become the best of friends. They told each other everything, they texted and called all the time—especially when Lucy was travelling—the only thing that they never talked about still were Natsu's bruises.

Not that she never asked.

He wouldn't be able to keep it from her this time. He'd wanted to protect her for as long as he could from this. He didn't know what the consequences would be should Acnologia and Zeref find out…but when he really thought about it what was the harm in telling her?

So it was to his complete surprise when she responded to him.

"What's the address?"

She was there within fifteen minutes. He didn't even have the energy to think about the state his apartment was in, all he could focus on was staying awake.

"Oh my god, Natsu!" she nearly screamed, running over to him. Her hands hovered over his face, shoulders, arms, chest…everywhere was covered in marks. If she was wondering where she could touch him without hurting him, he must really be in worse shape than he thought.

"Hey Luce," he forced a grin, tilting his head to one side, "how are ya?"

"If you weren't all cut up like this, I would slap you for saying that," she scowled. His gaze lowered and his eyelids, heavy, drooped closed. He lurched forward, his face landing in the middle of Lucy's chest. If he had thought the rest of her skin was smooth and soft as silk, that was nothing compared to the flesh that covered her lovely mounds.

He nuzzled into them, not even caring that she'd probably Lucy kick his face in for it. They were too much of a comfort to his skin and facial muscles for him to be considerate at the moment.

Surprisingly enough, Lucy just let out a huff, bringing her hands up to cradle his head. She held him to her chest, running her fingers through his blood-matted hair until it was smooth—still red, but smooth nonetheless.

"You are such a handful, you know that?" she breathed, trailing her fingers lightly along his cheekbones and back to his hair.

"Yeah, but you love me," he mumbled, lazily.

He slipped in and out of consciousness then. Lucy woke him up every few hours to make sure he was still okay before letting him go back to sleep. It was around the fifth or sixth time he awoke on his own, very, very warm.

He was in his bed.

And he wasn't alone.

Wrapped around him was Lucy. Her hair was fanned out around her in a halo, arms and legs entangled with his. She leaned into his chest in the crook of his neck, breathily deeply. Her exhales warmed his skin, it felt like fire.

Like a good fire.

He then became very fixated on a certain area of his that was way too warm for both of their comforts. He managed to untangle himself from Lucy's grip without waking her up, and slipped out into his living room.

His now pristine, living room.

Gone were the clothes strewn everywhere. The garbage that had been tossed into various places, and the cat toys that were scattered all around had vanished. Pizza boxes were in the recycling, DVD's were on the shelf, his fighting gear was in his duffle bag on the back of the doo—

His fighting gear.

She'd found it.

He thought he'd be panicking, but he didn't. He could only look around the room at what she had done for him. Garbage in the garbage that had been taken outside; the same with the recycling. Clothes had been washed and folded—in a laundry basket he hadn't seen in years—on the couch. She had even alphabetized his small collection of books.

Looking back into his bedroom—the door was open a crack—Natsu could only stare in awe at the woman that was currently occupying his bed. It was then that it hit him.

He was unmistakably, undeniably, hopelessly in love with her.

Stepping into the shower, he peeled off the tattered shreds of his that remained and tossed them in the garbage. Every muscle ached as he climbed into the shower and let the scalding water wash away all the dirt and blood that had caked onto his skin.

He stayed that way until the water ran clear.

Stepping out of the shower, he towel dried his hair hastily before wrapping the towel around his hips and venturing out into the living room to find the basket of clean clothes. Pulling on a pair of shorts, his ears perked at the sound of a creaking door hinge. Tying the rope to secure the shorts, Natsu turned around to meet Lucy's eyes.

She was gawking at him.

It took her a few minutes to regain her composure, but when she did, her mouth had set .

"Natsu Dragneel you have a lot of explaining to do." She glanced to the duffel bag, and he hung his head.

"Yeah…I know," he muttered. "Just…"

"Just what?"

He couldn't take it anymore.

He strode across the room and descended his lips to hers, pushing her up against the wall. He felt her gasp at his sudden movement, but it was only a matter of seconds before her hands came up to grip his shoulderblades. Her nails dug into his skin as he kissed her more deeply, hands wrapping around her hips down to her rear and pulling her thigh up and over his hip.

His tongue teased the roof of her mouth, making he shudder and moan into his. The more passionate he was, the more she surrendered to everything he was doing to her. One thing on top of another, there was nothing she wanted more.

She'd been wanting it since day one.

It was then that he'd pulled back from her.

"Wh—" she breathed, eyes lidded, "what're you…"

"I'm sorry," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers, "I didn't even ask… I just acted, assuming that you felt the same way, and—"

She giggled at that, "There you are. I've missed you."

"Huh?"

She nuzzled his nose with her own.

"There's the dorky pyromanic that I fell in love with."

His heart stopped; and then picked up the pace tenfold.

Breathing out, he claimed her lips again as she pulled him back into his bedroom. They'd spent the whole day and into the night learning everything about each other's bodies. She found his weak spots, and he hers. He found the voice that turned her on, and she found what made him purr—literally…how could he possibly even do that?

Laying with her head on his shoulder, Natsu could only smile with the sleeping girl on her shoulder, relishing in the happiness he felt. It didn't last long when what he'd have to do came to him.

He needed out. He needed out of the arena. He needed to be free.

Because as long as he was bound to Acnologia and the underground street fighting…he couldn't be with Lucy.

And that was all he wanted.

…..

He stared at her again…now that she was in the same position she'd been a year ago. He owed her an explanation…the words from his own lips and not that of his boss. He owed her a reason as to why he hadn't talked to her for a year. Why he'd left.

She was nuzzled under his chin, murmuring in her sleep. He'd been careful not to aggravate her fresh wounds, he knew how awful those could be, especially when physical active—though in the sense that they were active wasn't one he was overly familiar with. He'd only been with her after all.

He knew what was coming when she woke up, he knew what they would have to talk about.

But until then, he could enjoy this bliss.

He could enjoy having her.

* * *

 ** _Whoa…that was a lot longer than I expected to be._**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed, lemme know what you think :)_**

 ** _-xinaidebenihime_**


	3. Happy&Glory Days

**_A/N:_** _Alright guys. You got your Natsu filler; now I give you Lucy filler! Hope you like it! :)_

 ** _Prompt(s):_** _Happy/Glory Days_

 ** _Word Count:_** _3,720_

* * *

 _Headed out on an errand to grab breakfast, back in a bit._

 _\- Natsu_

Those words had haunted Lucy for a year.

When she'd first read them, she'd been slightly irritated. They'd just spend a whole day and night together, and the first thing he does is up and leave her alone?

Well…at least he was getting breakfast.

She took a shower and handwashed her clothes, letting them dry out as she wandered around his apartment in a towel. The books that she had organized yesterday piqued her interest, and pulling a volume about dragons from the shelf, she began to read. She was a patient person; she could wait.

But not for that long.

She'd lasted until just after lunch before texting him, rummaging around for something in his kitchen to silence her aching stomach. When he hadn't answered her in the hour, she gave him a call. It rang a few times before she was sent to voicemail, and by the third time she'd tried to call him, the number had been disconnected.

Her stomach churned.

Rushing to the bathroom she'd thrown up the contents of her stomach. That had eased her pain slightly, but her anxiety remained. Pulling her clothes on she began to take in her surroundings in the apartment and noticed two big changes.

His duffel bag on the back of the door was gone.

But more importantly, Happy was gone.

The day after they'd exchanged numbers, Natsu had begun to bring his cat along with him on their little outdoor lunch outings. The blue cat was all too happy to curl up in the back of Natsu's scarf and sleep. Though at first, he seemed a little jealous of Lucy and even tried to swipe her away a few times, the little guy eventually warmed up to her and even loved being carried by her.

Happy was Natsu's best friend—which she found interesting…since Happy was a _cat_ —and he'd had him since moving back to Magnolia. If Happy wasn't at the apartment and his food was missing.

Natsu was gone.

…..

There were a lot of emotions going through Lucy's head in the few months following Natsu's unexpected disappearance. Betrayal, hurt, loneliness…

The amount of pain she felt was only muffled by the knowledge of who Natsu was. She knew him, even though her friend Levy—she worked at the library with her—may have worried that he wasn't who he thought she was, Lucy knew better.

Natsu would never have just up and left her. Not if he didn't have a damn good reason; and she was going to find out what that reason was.

She had a lead after all.

While cleaning up Natsu's apartment, she'd found a bank account statement. Natsu had hundreds of dollars deposited into his account every other day or so by the same company name.

Tartaros.

On one of her lunch breaks at the library, Lucy tinkered around on the computer and in the archives. On the surface, Tartaros wasn't what she'd expected it to be, and she knew for sure that Natsu wasn't involved in designing houses.

She was thoroughly immersed in a mark that seemed to pop up whenever Tartaros was involved in a house rebuild. The most recent one she'd managed to find was on a new building by Natsu's apartment—after hours…man did she ever leave this place?—when her phone rang.

"Lucy, did you—"

"Levy?" Lucy drew her attention away from the computer screen.

"Yeah, real quick—"

"Do you _know_ how much long distance from Albaress costs? Do you know what your phone bill is gunna—"

"Lucy shut up for a second!"

Lucy blinked. Levy never raised her voice, let alone swore. 'Shut up' was a swear word when it came to Levy; how she was dating a tattooed, pierced, metal-head, Lucy would never know.

"You know how you told me that Natsu has pink hair?"

Lucy didn't quite know where Levy was going with this, "Yeah…why?"

"Does he also wear a white scarf and carry around a blue cat?"

Lucy's gut wrenched.

She'd never told Levy about that.

"Where did you see him?" she asked, gathering her things and rushing out the front door. She plugged in her headphones to keep talking to Levy while getting online to buy a boat ticket.

"Last night, I got stuck translating an old volume of the 'History of Albaress' and lost track of time. He was coming out of a pharmacy with a roll of gauze in his hand," Levy told her. "What in the world is he involved in Lucy, he was all beat up. You never told me he was an underground street fighter."

"…what?" Lucy's stomach sank.

"I mean, the least he could do would be to fight legally, that would be safer—"

"Wait, Levy, back up! What are you talking about? What do you mean he's an underground street fighter?" Lucy pried, running toward the nearest port.

"Well…I followed him afterward because I wanted to know if it was who I thought it was. I managed to trail him to an abandoned shipping tank yard; there was a ring set up and everything."

Shoving her way to the front of the line, Lucy ignored the grunts and groans of those around her. She showed proof of her purchase to the captain before pushing her way onto the boat to get a good seat.

"I didn't stay long because they had big guys walking around the perimeter, but I know what I saw," Levy sounded a bit worried. "What's going on Luce, you didn't know?"

Lucy shook her head, but then remembered Levy couldn't see her and voiced her thoughts. "No. He would always have cuts and bruises, but he never told me where he got them…and now I know why…" Lucy trailed off, staring at the waves as the boat started up.

"That's kind of a big thing to keep from you," Lucy could hear the irritation in Levy's voice, "who does he think he is—"

"Think about it Levy, underground street fighting is top secret and illegal. Can you imagine the kind of people he's involved with?" Lucy rubbed her face, _How had she not thought of this possibility sooner?_

"I know! He's dangerous Luc—"

"No, he's not Levy—"

"He should've at least given you an explanation—"

"Levy—"

"I mean, you could—"

"Levy! Shut up a second!"

Silence.

"Levy," Lucy sighed, "like I said before. Think about it. Why wouldn't he tell me? It's the most obvious thing you could think of. If it were me, why wouldn't I tell you? Or if it were you, why wouldn't you tell me?"

She could almost see it click in her brain through the phone line.

"He was…"

"Yeah," Lucy sighed, her heart settling for the first time in the months since Natsu had disappeared.

"He was protecting me."

…..

There were downsides to growing up in a wealthy family.

There were often people around talking about Lucy's future. Who she would marry, how it would benefit her father's company, bearing a son as an heir to her family name.

It didn't bother Lucy much though, she chose to focus on her mother. Layla loved her daughter with all her heart, and often dismissed her daughter's worries when it came to her husband's projected ambitions. _She needn't worry about that just yet, and when the time came, Lucy would be old enough to choose for herself who she wanted to marry._ That helped Lucy a lot.

Until her mother was killed.

In pursuit of the Heartfilia fortune, a competitor attempted to kidnap Lucy at a young age, and in trying to protect her daughter, Layla had lost her life.

Since then, Lucy had trained in hand-to-hand combat with her butler Capricorn until she achieved a second-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate. Though she hadn't practiced as heavily as she used to when she was in training, she still had the skills. It didn't stop her from carrying a gun for extra reassurance though.

It wasn't a skill she'd thought was uncommon, so she'd never thought to mention it to Natsu. Reflecting back and taking into account the situation the two of them were in right now, maybe she should of mentioned it.

If she had, maybe he wouldn't be where he was right about now.

Having managed to disguise herself as a fighter—with a small demonstration to the 'bouncers' if you could even all them that—Lucy had worked her way nearly to the front of the ring, and for the first time in six months, she laid eyes on Natsu.

He didn't look good.

His whole right arm was wrapped in gauze; a large portion stained a dark brown, definitely dried blood. Similar dressings were present around his ribs—his lower torso seemed to be sporting a large 'x'-shaped wound—and left leg. His feet were bare, but hid hands were wrapped in a white fabric. They were dusted with some dirt and blood spatters, but those looked to be from his opponent and not himself.

His shoulders had definitely broadened, and he seemed to have gained a few inches in height. Goggles over his eyes, he managed an upper-cut/roundhouse kick attack combo on his competitor, sending the guy barreling directly into Lucy.

Lucy—with the support of the bodies behind her to keep _her_ from falling over—managed to get the guy back up onto his feet. However, his bulk this time worked against him, sending him hurdling to the ground. Natsu was declared the winner as the ref grabbed his hand and held it high. The crowds cheered and passed around money, a few blows being exchanged by sore losers.

Natsu didn't notice any of this though. His body was tense and he looked worried; this wasn't an expression of pain.

Pulling up his goggles, Lucy noticed his gaze dart to her before he turned his back and left the ring, nearly running away from her. Pushing her way through the crowd, she followed close behind him, looking around to make sure nobody was watching.

They were all too focused on money to give a rat's ass about her or Natsu.

Good.

She'd followed him into a dark part of Albaress' town and was trailing behind him silently before a hand snatched her arm out of nowhere and pulled her into an alley, covering her mouth with the other hand.

Natsu's eyes were angry and frantic, two emotions she'd never seen on his face before. Onyx eyes were nearly black with fury as they darted around, making sure they were alone.

"What the fuck are you doing here," he snarled. Lucy's heart raced as she stared at him. His brows were low, his mouth was fierce; he looked like an animal ready to rip out the throat of his prey.

"I've been looking for you for months," Lucy whispered, tears pricking her eyes as she willed herself not to cry. "I've been so worried…I didn't know what happe—"

"I'm not yours to worry about," he growled, backing away and releasing his hold of her. Arms crossed in front of his chest, Lucy couldn't help but notice the size of the blood spots had grown.

"What did you do?" she breathed, reaching for his stomach.

He snatched her wrist.

"Nothing that is your concern," he said lowly, gaze hardening. "Now get out of here."

"No!" she protested, "I just found you, no way I'm leavin—"

"Heartfilia, I don't know how you found this place, but you need to leave."

…had he just called her by her last name.

"Natsu—"

"Fuck, _get a clue!_ I got what I wanted from you, now leave me _alone!_ "

Swallowing hard, Lucy managed to hold back her tears as she turned and walked away from him. She paused at the edge of the alley, biting the heel of her thumb to keep Natsu from hearing her choke back a sob.

"He'll kill you Lucy."

Looking back to him, she saw his slumped shoulders.

"You need to leave, get out of here and go back to your life before you met me. Save yourself while you still can. I should never have followed you that day," he whispered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"I don't want to leave," she choked, tears falling.

"Get out, now."

She silently walked to him, fingering a piece of paper with a poem she had written. Finding the dip between his neck and shoulder. She squeezed firmly, "But it's always more fun when we're together."

Pulling at the wrap on his back, she slid the piece of paper into it.

And then she was gone.

It had killed Natsu to say those things to her. He should have just left it at the lie, he shouldn't have told her that her life was in danger, but he just couldn't bear to see her in pain.

And now he was paying for his mistake.

Once Lucy had left, he wedged his hand into the back of his bandage, ignoring the pain that shot through his stomach. Pulling out the piece of paper, his eyes scanned over the words Lucy had written.

 _When you go off on your own,_

 _I'll be waiting here._

 _Though you need to go alone,_

 _I'm here should you desire an ear._

 _I know you're worried and I know you're in pain,_

 _But you do need not fear._

 _For I let you know that I will wait,_

 _And await your return, my dear._

 _But don't mistake my understanding,_

 _For excusing your lack of words._

 _There's only so much I can take,_

 _Before it starts to hurt._

 _I do have faith that one day soon,_

 _You'll be okay and return._

 _But please be kind when you do,_

 _Because my heart has burned._

 _So until then, I guess I wait,_

 _For what else can I do;_

 _But worry over you in pain_

 _And wish for better for you._

 _Though I am hurt and you are consumed_

 _By overwhelming strife;_

 _I will wait for you, my dear._

 _For I love you in my life._

…..

Since then, once in awhile, Lucy would go to watch Natsu fight. He was getting stronger and more agile. He was decorated with fewer bandages and taking less time to disable his opponent each time she saw him.

She would leave before he saw her though.

This particular time, Natsu took a hard hit to the head, so she hid and stuck around to make sure he was okay. After everyone had dispersed only Natsu, a black-haired man about the same height as him, a tall, cloaked, tattooed, light-haired—Lucy couldn't quite make out his hair colour…blue maybe—man who seemed to resemble the two in a weird way.

Natsu looked to the black-haired man who gave him a nod.

"Go ahead."

Natsu turned back to the tattooed man, and setting his composure, stood tall.

"Acnologia, I'd like to leave the fighting ring."

The tattooed man, Acnologia, glared, "Oh really? He put you up to this."

"No, this is my decision. I've been fighting for you for the past six years, and I'd really like to just have a more normal life," Natsu said sincerely.

"Does this by chance have anything to do with the blonde?"

Lucy saw Natsu stiffen.

"Yeah, thought I didn't know about her did ya?" Acnologia smirked, folding his arms over his chest, one of which was a prosthetic. As toned as he was, Lucy wouldn't be surprised if he'd been a fighter who had to retire because of his injury.

"Wang bang bitch then ditch," Natsu spat, "she doesn't mean anything to me."

"Uh huh, if she didn't you wouldn't be trying so hard to get me off her trail, and you wouldn't have asked me to leave the morning after she was at your house for the night."

"How did you know about that?" Natsu's eyes were wide.

"I pay for your phone Natsu, you honestly think I don't know about your phone calls and texts?" he advance on him, "I know everything."

Nearly chest to chest with Natsu, Acnologia sneered in his face, "You stay."

His gaze darted over to Lucy's hiding place. Though she was bathed in shadow, the way his gaze lingered suggested to Lucy that he had, or _could_ in fact see her.

It made her heart race.

"You think she's safe?" his gaze fell back to Natsu, "You think you're safe? That stunt you pulled yesterday, trying to cut off your own arm? You think that's gunna work when I'm around?"

In a flash, Acnologia slashed the throat of the black-haired man.

" _Zeref!_ "

Within seconds, Natsu wrapped the fabric from his hands around his brother's throat. Sputtering blood, Zeref fell to his knees as Acnologia strode away, disappearing from sight.

Lucy sprinted once he was out of sight.

Kneeling next to Natsu, she applied pressure with her own hands.

"Get my phone," she instructed, adding a new dressing that she'd pulled from her purse. "Call a hospital."

Natsu didn't have time to be surprised at her presence, all he could do was call 911 and pray for an ambulance to come quickly enough.

It didn't.

Back tense, and hands balled into fists, Natsu shook in his boots. Staring at the open body bag, Natsu didn't say a word as tears fell and streamed down his cheeks. Lucy walked over to him, fingers brushing against the back of his hand, attempting to hold it—

"You didn't listen to me."

Lucy stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. He was glaring down at her.

"I told you to stop. I told you to leave me alone, but you couldn't just stay put," he advanced on her, voice more menacing.

"Natsu, I—"

"I don't want to hear it," he growled. When had his canines gotten so pointy? Had he always looked this vicious?

"Leave. And don't come back."

She did.

…..

She buried Natsu and everything having to do with him in the deep depths of her brain. She tried to forget his smile, his warmth, the way he'd loved her that night. She buried all the conversations she'd had, how fond she'd been of happy, and she'd almost succeeded.

Until Acnologia appeared at her doorstep.

After pushing his way in and invading her apartment, the two of them began to converse about Natsu.

And he told her everything.

From the first time he'd met Natsu, his whole history, how he was Acnologia's best fighter and he couldn't let him go. He told her about the attempts he'd made to get out, and the consequences he'd endured.

"But, I'll give him a way out," he sneered.

Lucy's ears perked up.

"If he fights and wins the next championship, I'll let him go. The loser will want to take his place, and I'll have the next champion with Natsu out of the game."

Lucy nearly burst with excitement, but controlled herself.

Something wasn't right.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Acnologia leaned back, "So you can go tell Natsu of course."

"What's your motive?"

"I don't have one."

"I don't believe you."

"Good girl. I wouldn't believe me either."

"So what's the catch?"

"I get a kiss from you."

Lucy blinked, "That's it?"

He nodded, "That's it."

Lucy strode over to him and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Oh come on, that wasn't a kiss. You want your boyfriend's life, right?"

Swallowing her pride, Lucy leaned in again to connect her mouth with his.

It was the most disgusting thing she'd ever done.

He didn't taste bad or anything, and if she was being objective, he didn't have bad technique. But the energy that he was giving to her, and what he was sucking from her made her sick. That and the fact that it wasn't Natsu made it all that much worse.

She broke away, "Good enough?"

"Definitely," he smirked, pulling out his phone. "I'll start making the arrangements now."

With a few button clicks, he showed Lucy the text securing Natsu's freedom should he agree to go along with it. Relieved, Lucy dropped to her knees, wiping away her tears of relief.

She was at peace until she found herself on her back, unable to sleep.

Acnologia was on top of her.

"What're you doing? You said only a kiss!" she protested, wriggling beneath him.

"For Natsu's freedom. You think he'll want you after what I'm about to do to you? He's a very possessive man, doesn't like others playing with his toys. He'll get to have you, knowing that I've had everything he's enjoying."

Lucy had struggled, which only restricted her movements further as Acnologia tightened his grip. The longer she didn't fight, the looser his hands were on her wrists. Bearing with the pain as he bit down on her nipples, Lucy waited for the right moment to strike.

And did she ever strike.

She nearly clawed his eyes out, and almost broke his jaw.

Running for her front door, she was caught by a big burly bodyguard who held her tight. Seething, Acnologia came up behind Lucy.

"Need some help boss?"

Agnologia scoffed and Lucy could almost see the smug look on his face. "No. She's not worth it. I've done enough to get in his head."

"Should we let her go?"

"Eventually."

With fresh lashes on her back, and fake nails ripped off, Lucy stumbled down the street back toward her apartment. They'd dumped her halfway across town to add insult to injury. Originally they'd probably expected her to go straight to Natsu's, but with everything that had happened, she needed to process and just couldn't deal with him right now.

Anger overwhelmed her senses as she thought more about the situation she was in, how he'd treated her, and how much the whole thing sucked.

As much as she loved him…she wanted to punch him in the face.

"Fucking asshole."

 _Damn you, Natsu…why couldn't you have just told me from the start? I could've tried something to help._

Through the pain and anger she felt toward him, a small part of her spoke out.

 _But…we have a chance._

Yes. They did.

* * *

 _Halfway there. Two more chapters after this! Any feedback is welcome :)_

 _-xinaidebenihime_


	4. Cold

_**A/N:**_ _I give you all fluff to balance out the angst! Well…can't be entirely angst free, but I hope you all like it anyway._

 ** _Prompt(s):_** _Cold_

 _ **Word Count:** 3,787_

* * *

Lucy was afraid to open her eyes.

Drifting back into consciousness, her lust/pain-filled daze from the night before disappeared. Clear headed, the anxiety and fear began to set in.

The spot next to her in bed was empty.

And it was cold.

Cracking one eye open, Lucy's stomach sank.

Natsu was gone again.

Pulling the sheets back and sitting up, Lucy gathered her clothes from the floor, pulling on her underwear and pants first—her back still hurt and she was going to avoid agitating it any more as much as possible.

Walking out of Natsu's room, she headed toward the kitchen. If she was left alone again she was going to damn well make sure her stomach was full before heading home.

Pulling her shirt over her head, Lucy wandered into the kitchen. In an attempt to clothe herself as painlessly as possible, the shirt got stuck on her head and she groaned in frustration.

"Here."

Light fingers ghosted over her skin, pulling the fabric down over her bandages. With a light tug, her head popped through the scoop neck, giving her a good view of the kitchen.

As well as the dense moron standing in front of her.

"You asshole!" she yelled, pounding a fist against his chest.

"Hey!"

"Don't _do_ that!" she cried, bringing up the opposing hand to strike.

Natsu caught it.

"Don't do what?"

The expression on his face nearly made her break down again. Eyebrows drawn together, his pupils seemed to dilate as he took in every inch of her face, trying to pinpoint her exact emotion. She didn't quite know what that was herself.

"I…" she whispered, closing her eyes and looking down, "I thought you'd left again."

Eyes still closed, she felt a finger tilt her chin up and his lips press onto hers. Slowly, languidly—more tender than possessive as he had been the night before—Natsu gave his feelings to Lucy. Muffled was the lust they both had acted on last night as his mouth moved with hers gently, sweetly, lovingly.

His hands came up to cradle her face as he broke the kiss, his gaze finding hers through her half lidded eyes. Gone was the animosity she had last seen from him after his brother had been killed. His features were soft, adoring.

"Never," he declared in a whisper, "never again Lucy."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Drawing her into his chest, Lucy was able to relax for the first time in a year. His warmth radiated to her very core, heating her body up with a passion unmatched by any other man. Careful to avoid her injuries, Natsu lifted Lucy. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she buried her face in his neck.

"I love you," he mumbled in her ear. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

She only held him tighter.

After a few more moments, she released her hold around his waist and lowered her feet to the floor. Pulling back from her, Natsu led her to the table in his kitchen. She blinked at the contents of the table and turned to Natsu.

Natsu blushed, scratching the back of his neck, "I know I wasn't very good before whenever I would try to bring you lunch, but I've gotten pretty good over the past year. I was going to bring it to you in bed, but…"

So this is what he'd been doing.

An array of various food decorated the wooden surface. Two plates with a stack of pancakes each were decorated with strawberries, blueberries and banana. A bottle of syrup sat in the middle of the counter next to a small bowl of chocolate chips. The other side of the table held sunny-side up eggs, bacon and buttered toast.

One look was all it took for Lucy to turn ravenous.

With how much and how quickly Natsu knew he ate, it was all he could do to not stare in awe as Lucy kept up with him bite for bite. She couldn't help it. Between the blood loss and the 'physical activities' of the night before, she was starving. She shoveled in her half of everything, even opting to wash it down with half a carton of orange juice she'd confiscated from the door of his fridge.

After tossing the carton in the garbage and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Lucy noticed Natsu staring at her, slack-jawed.

"What?"

Natsu blinked. "Is it bad that that just turned me on?"

 _Facepalm._

After rinsing the plates and loading the dishwasher, Lucy pulled Natsu into the bathroom. He was still all dirty and bloodied from the night before—most likely from a fight—and she'd need fresh dressings after a shower anyway.

Gently unwrapping the dressing from Lucy's torso, Natsu inspected the lashes on her back. They'd scabbed over well, would definitely leave a scar, but wouldn't get infected if treated properly over the next few days.

"Why did he do this to you?" he asked, unwrapping a second dressing from her shoulder.

"He went back on his word and I fought back." Lucy stated bluntly.

"What word?"

Lucy explained the conditions behind letting Natsu go. Patiently Natsu listened from when Acnologia came to her front step, to her running into him at the convenience store. She could see his expression harden as he did his best not to interject like he usually would.

"He's not going to let me go that easily," Natsu muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

"But he showed me—"

"Yeah, that doesn't mean he isn't going to make it easy, and that doesn't guarantee our safety and freedom for the rest of our lives." Pulling off his own bandages, Lucy didn't fail to take in the physical reminder of that 'x' blood stain she'd seen all those months ago.

She didn't even want to think about what Acnologia had used to inflict that wound. But she knew because he had told her.

She shuddered.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Lucy asked softly, pulling open the shower curtain and stripping off the rest of her clothes. Natsu followed suit, running the water from the tap until it was lukewarm before switching it to the showerhead.

Natsu was silent for a few moments as he cleaned Lucy's wounds again, washing the dried sweat from her body. Flashes of the previous night ran through his mind while running his hands over her body.

He was never letting her go again, and he'd do whatever it took to keep her safe.

Once he was done, Lucy turned around, lathered her hands, and began to wash the grime from his shoulders and chest, taking special care not to agitate the fresh wounds. Her fingers trailed gently over the scar of his lower left stomach. What if he'd lost him from that? From what she was tol—

Natsu's hand encased he wrist.

Looking up at him as he weaved his fingers through hers, a smile ghosted over Natsu's features reassuringly.

Pressing her chest to his and wrapping her arms around his neck, Lucy kissed him fiercely—nearly knocking Natsu over. She couldn't think about losing him anymore, she could only think about how good it was to just _be_ with him again.

His hands supporter her as he moved one to her lower back, and the other to her hair, gripping at it and tilting her head to give him better access to her mouth and neck. Kissing her deeply he took her breath away, and with her hands in his hair and her tongue teasing his, she had the same effect on him.

After running the water for _way_ too long, the two finally set foot to the tile floor, drying themselves off. Rubbing his hair furiously, Natsu pouted at the mess he'd made of his locks.

Giggling, Lucy grabbed a hairbrush and started running it through his wild mane. His hair was probably long enough to pull back into a ponytail now. He looked like he hadn't cut it since she'd first met him…and that was almost two years ago.

Pulling it all to the base of his neck, Lucy separated it into three large chunks, layering one overtop of the other until she had no more hair to work with. Wrapping an elastic at the base, the braid ended just between his shoulder blades.

"Man, your hair has gotten long," she breathed, toying with the end.

He turned to her, a few strands falling free, framing his face. She could only stare at him, heart swelling as he smiled wide. She'd missed his smile.

"Yeah, I should probably get it cut," he scratched the back of his head.

"No!"

Blinking, Natsu cocked his head to one side.

Lucy blushed, "I really like it like this."

Natsu kissed her chastely.

"Then it stays."

…..

After refusing to let Lucy go back to her apartment alone, Natsu tagged along with her on red alert, ready to beat the crap out of anyone that looked at the two of them with the slightest hint of malice.

And now Lucy found him rummaging around in her closet.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, semi-irritated. He hadn't answered a single one of her questions since they'd gotten back to her apartment. He'd proceeded to tear apart every nook and cranny, looking for something he wouldn't tell her about.

"Jackpot!"

It was one of her old suitcases.

"I coulda told you where that was," Lucy grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "What's with the suitcase?"

Natsu handed it to her, "You're moving in with me until we get all of this sorted out."

Lucy furrowed her brow, "Acnologia _pays_ for your apartment and knows very intimately where you live Natsu."

"Yes," Natsu pulled a second suitcase from underneath all the clutter, throwing that one on the floor and opening it. "But he knows where you live too. Either place he would find us, and even if we were to move, he has lackeys to track us down. It's better for us to stick together since he'd find us either way."

Looking at me sideways, he offered her a small grin. "It's always more fun when we're together, right?"

Lucy grinned.

They spent the next hour packing up Lucy's essentials and then filling the empty space with anything else they could fit. The rest of her things got packed into two boxes that were light enough for them to carry a couple blocks.

"You don't have very many things," Natsu commented.

"Yeah," Lucy readjusted the box in her hands, "being a runaway leaves you with the bare minimum."

Not needing these things at Natsu's but not wanting to throw them away, the two headed over to Levy's place. Hoping Levy wouldn't mind them dropping by unannounced, Lucy kicked the door lightly with her foot to simulate a knock.

A few moments later, Levy came to the door—out of breath—wrapped in a bathrobe.

"Lucy, hi," she smiled, a little nervous, "wh..what are you doing here?"

Lucy didn't get a chance to answer before Natsu started sniffing Levy.

"Natsu! What're you doing!?"

A slow grin spread over his face as his eyes focused on the small slit of apartment he could see through the door.

"Yo! Metalhead! How'd your gearless brain manage to land a girl like this!?"

Levy blinked as the door flew open behind her. Towering over the small blue-haired girl was the man Lucy had only ever seen pictures of before. Long, crazy black hair poofed out of a green patterned headband, falling over halfway down his back. Studs decorated the length of his nose and followed the line of his brow where his eyebrows should've been. Two studs embellished the skin beneath his lower lip, and three sets of studs lined his ears.

Barechested, but sporting gloves with metal wrist cuffs, he wrapped one studded forearm instinctively around Levy as he sized up Natsu. Had he had the ability, I'm sure his red eyes would've burned a hole through Natsu with how intent his gaze was.

"With how ugly you've gotten, wouldn't have noticed you without the pink hair, Flamebrain."

They stared each other down for a few more minutes before breaking out into grins and crossing forearms, hands balled into fists.

"How you been buddy?"

'Metalhead' backed up from the door—still holding Levy—and let Lucy and Natsu into the apartment. Setting the boxes down by the front door, Lucy and Levy watched as the two headed over to the couches, plopping down opposite each other.

Lucy looked to Levy, "Did you know that they knew each other?"

Levy shook her head, "I hadn't even mentioned Natsu to him at all. You never heard anything about Gajeel from Natsu?"

"No, nothing…" Lucy went to bite her lip, but hissed. It was then that Levy took in the state of her best friend.

"Jeeze Lucy, what happened to you?"

Lucy filled her in on everything that had happened in the past few days. Listening intently Levy threw in a comment or asked a question here and there. Mostly wondering whether she was okay, what Natsu had said, whether he'd given her a good enough reason for what he'd done. She seemed satisfied with Lucy's answers.

"So we're here because I was wondering if I could leave a couple boxes that I don't need at your place for a bit while we figure this all out."

"Only if you promise I get to be the first person to read your novel when you finish it."

Grinning wide, Lucy laughed, "Of course, Levy."

Giddy, the blue-haired girl bounced up and down, hugging the blonde tightly. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Having finished their conversation, the girls headed over, sitting next to their respective partners. Gajeel lay his arm along the length of the couch behind Levy and Natsu weaved his fingers through Lucy's.

The two revealed that they'd fought each other a few times. Gajeel belonged to an underground fighting organization named Phantom Lord. When first clashing, they'd hated each other, but the more they'd found themselves at the same events, the more they'd started to get along. From Lucy's point of view they seemed like pretty good friends, though they seemed like they'd never admit it.

"Any luck finding Juvia?"

Gajeel shook his head, "No. After that lead we found a few years ago, I thought I'd found her over in Arbaless. No dice though."

Natsu deflated, rubbing his face.

"Any luck finding Gray and Erza?"

Natsu shook his head, "I made the mistake of telling Acnologia about them. So I'm pretty sure he'd hide them from me if not get rid of them completely."

Leaning forward with his head between his knees, Natsu ran his fingers through his hair, muscles tight. Lucy rubbed circles on his back, soothing him a bit.

"From the bit that we'd found out while looking for them all, I doubt they'd go down easy Natsu. I wouldn't worry about it."

Natsu nodded.

After filling in Gajeel on all that they'd been up to and their current states, the four of them took it upon themselves to relax for the first time in days. Lucy and Levy moved off into their own little corner, brainstorming ideas for Lucy's novel while Gajeel and Natsu played Halo.

Life felt almost normal, and the two didn't want to leave once the sun had set. Hugging Levy goodbye, Lucy promised that she'd give her a call if she needed anything, and in return Levy promised the same.

"Well that makes sense as to why she was certain as to what you were doing," Lucy mused.

"Hm?"

Natsu glanced back at her from his place in front of her. The two pulled Lucy's remaining things in the suitcases behind them.

"If Gajeel was a fighter like you, it would make sense that she would know what to look for. It would also make sense as to how she recognized you."

"Clever little shrimp," he smirked.

A few moments of silence passed.

"Natsu?"

Her voice was so soft, Natsu almost didn't hear it over the click the wheels of her suitcases made on the tile floor. Turning back to her, he tilted his head to one side in inquiry.

"Was it a bad idea for us to involve them in this?"

Bringing two innocents into their problem seemed really selfish and really dangerous. The amount of guilt and devastation Lucy would feel if anything happened to them…

"Gajeel was the only person I ever faced who I really had to try to beat," Natsu started, taking Lucy's hand in his. "He's a brilliant fighter and remarkably intelligent, though you wouldn't know it. If anyone comes after them, they don't stand a chance."

Lucy giggled.

"What?"

"You used the word remarkable."

"Well what's so funny about that!?

…..

Natsu bounced on his heels.

He'd kissed Lucy goodbye before heading to his final fight. There was still something that didn't sit right with him about this whole situation. Acnologia wouldn't just let him go without a price, and kissing Lucy didn't seem like a sufficient enough payment.

Stepping into the makeshift ring—could they even be call that when it was just a circle in the center of a mob of people?—Natsu rolled his shoulders. He didn't know much about his opponent. He just knew that it was supposed to be the winner from Albaress.

"Alright guys, we've got a change of plans tonight," Acnologia boomed. "Since this is the send off of my best fighter, there's going to be a slight rule and contender change."

Natsu looked over to Acnologia. What was he up to?

The mob began to get louder, protesting the change in program.

"Now, now," Acnologia raised his voice slightly, and the spectators quieted down, "I've made things much more interesting." Acnologia descended from where he was standing and waded his way through the people to Natsu.

"No! You can't! Stop! Please don't do this!"

Natsu barely made out those shouts as his attention was drawn to the body being shoved into the ring with him.

 _No._

Snapping his head around to Acnologia, Natsu snarled, "You fucking bas—"

"Ah, ah, ah," Acnologia taunted, spinning Natsu back around and gripping him by the shoulders. Head right next to his, Acnologia leaned to whisper down in his ear, "You be a good boy and fight your final fight. You win this, and you get your freedom."

Natsu's stomach sank as his opponent looked back at him.

It was Lucy.

"Now originally," Acnologia continued, "I was going to recruit your opponent to replace you as his your silence however…

"I had to think of something a little more drastic."

Lucy stared at Natsu, "I'm so sorry," she mouthed.

Flung to her knees in front of him, Lucy picked herself up. Clad in a black zip-up sports bra, black track pants and bare feet, she looked like she'd been dressed to fight. She was wearing gloves instead of wraps. Her hair had been haphazardly pulled back into a messy bun.

Natsu noticed a few new marks on her body. She hadn't gone with them without a fight, they must've pulled a gun on her or something. He knew she was strong enough to get away, she'd proven that. But once a gun is introduced, it's a whole new ballgame.

She was a mess.

"This is a deathring!"

… _what?_

The mob went quiet for a split second before erupting in roars.

"With a kill under your belt, whoever leaves this ring will be sworn into secrecy."

Lucy looked up at Acnologia, baffled. Scrambling her brain for something to make him change his mind, Lucy pulled out the only string she could think of.

"Do you _know_ who I am!?" Lucy screamed at him.

It didn't work.

"Yes I do, Miss Heartfilia," Acnologia drawled, "I also know that your father has disowned you, and that should he come after me if he were to even care about your death, enough money would silence him."

The worst part was Lucy didn't doubt that that was true.

"By the way," Acnologia whispered again in Natsu's ear, "attempt to throw this fight, and I'll kill her."

He was screwed either way.

Acnologia shoved Natsu into the ring.

Across from Natsu—after having been shoved and thrown a few times by the betters—Lucy hesitantly sunk into her fighting stance. It seemed to take Natsu a little bit longer, even receiving a few punches from the viewers. It took a second for him to realize why her movement looked so familiar.

Natsu recognized the pose she was in.

…she'd never told him she knew how to fight.

This was good. Chances were Acnologia didn't know she could fight either, Natsu could go easy on her by blocking if she was as advanced as her pose led him to believe she was.

Before he could really think too hard on it, the bell sounded and he'd taken a roundhouse kick to the jaw.

Lucy was focused and furious. Her muscles tense, eyes alert, hair back. She was a ball of burning fury as she unleashed various quick combo attacks at him.

 _Was she_ trying _to kill him?_

It was then at close range he noticed what gloves she was wearing.

They were Gajeel's.

She'd seen Gajeel in the past hour.

The wheels in his head began to turn as he looked at her attire more closely. She had an earring that Levy had been wearing in her left ear, and one from Gajeel in her right.

 _Wh—_

Catching her second kick, Natsu stopped her attack. Shoving her back, Natsu slid into a familiar combo of his own, pushing his feelings aside and landing a few good hits. Sending Lucy back into the mob of people, they sent her right back, and with the momentum she targeted a fresh wound of his from one of his previous fights. Beneath the fire she held when attacking, he saw something else in her eyes.

She was having fun.

With a renewed vigour, the two went after each other, exchanging blows. More than dreading on it, they were having a bit of fun. In the back of their minds, something told them that outside forces that they didn't quite understand were working together on helping them.

In a split second, her eyes focused past his head before returning to his face.

That split second. That one look. That one thing that had been behind him that distracted her…

That had been what had sealed her fate

That was the punch that stopped her heart.

* * *

 _One more!_

 _Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you all who read and/or reviewed this. Makes my day._

 _-xinaidebenihime_


	5. Gratitude

**_A/N:_** _Alright all you beautiful souls, here's the last part. Took me a bit to think of a way for what I wanted to happen to flow, so I'm sorry it wasn't up sooner. I also just started back to work (full time 9-5) yesterday, so I only have time at night to write._

 _Btw, I thought of a few ideas for a multichap sequel to this story set in the years between this and the previous chapter. Let me know if you'd interested in reading it. If so, I'll start brainstorming right away :)_

 _Thank you so much guys!_

 ** _Prompt:_** _Gratitude_

 ** _Rating:_** _M — includes adult themes/actions as well as mentions of_ _violence. NSFW._

 ** _Word Count:_** _2,773_

* * *

The way she pulled at his hair was addictive.

It was the kind of pain that sent a shuddering wave of need through his body. It was a sensation that made his fingers curl and dig into her skin. It made the muscles in his jaw tense with an instinct to nip and suck at the nearest bit of flesh he could find. It overflowed his entire being with the need to bury himself within her that little bit more; that extra inch that would push her over the edge and into a state of bliss known only to those who have been worshipped by primal desire.

It made him go crazy.

He pulled the shudders from her flesh with the tips of his canines, skimming over her salty skin.

He drank the whimpers and moans that spilled from her lips.

He breathed into her neck and gripped at the sheets, and he moved with a passionate, fiery greed.

And he watched her face as she released and convulsed, finding his own and relaxing with her. With her body in his hands, he rested above her breast, looking to find solace in the sound of her heart.

A heart that wasn't beating.

"Lucy?!"

With a start he flew to his hands and knees, hovering over her and taking her face between his hands. Lips blue and muscles slack, it took Natsu a minute to realize they weren't in his bed anymore.

In a heap on the ground of his battle arena, lay Lucy.

Dead.

Surrounded by spectators who were cheering, Natsu found himself screaming.

But no sound escaped his lips.

Looking around frantically for help—and finding none—Natsu's brain wracked for a possible solution. Unconsciously, his hands found her heart, breathing life back into her, and beating her chest to spread it through her body.

"It's too late."

He continued his movements as his head snapped up to the looming figure of Acnologia.

"She's gone," he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "You've done well, Natsu."

"No!" he yelled, "it was an accident. Call an ambulance for gods sake!"

Acnologia just shook his head, "Not a chance, boy. This is your payment for your freedom.

Looking down at Lucy's lifeless figure, Natsu ran his hands through his hair and nearly ripped it from his roots. "If this is my payment, then I don't want freedom!"

Acnologia's dark chuckle echoed all around him.

"Too bad. Your toll has been payed.

"And I'm not giving it back."

…..

A wrangled scream ripped from Natsu's throat as he keeled forward in his bed, heart pounding a million miles a minute. Tears streamed from his cheeks as he hugged his shaking form, trying to escape from Acnologia's lingering voice.

Stumbling out of bed, Natsu trudged to the kitchen and stuck his head in the freezer.

Something she always teased him about.

The frosty air that spilled from the open door cooled his skin and calmed his nerves. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he shut the door to the freezer and pulled a carton of orange juice from the fridge.

Chugging half the thing before sitting down at the table, Natsu took a look at the clock on the stove.

 _6:23pm._

He'd have to get to work soon. He had a fight in an hour and a half.

Shaking the last of the nightmare off, the pinkette stood from his spot and wandered into his living room. Looking around at the empty space, Natsu couldn't help but feel lonely.

As if to ease his aching heart, he felt a soft brush at the backs of his calves.

Smiling down at the blue cat, he bent down to pick the little guy up.

Purring up a storm, Happy crawled up Natsu's shoulder and into the pocket his scarf made, the rumbling of his chest massaging the fighter's back ever so slightly.

Distracted by the feeling, Natsu was able to focus on packing up his bag for the night. Darting around the room, Natsu grabbed various wraps, bandages, creams and footwear.

He was about to head out the door when something caught his eye.

Beneath the table near his front door, lay a pink envelope.

His fingers enclosed around the envelope as he swapped the cat for the piece of paper. Happy sniffed at the little folded thing before walking away to find somewhere else to curl up. Natsu's gut sank as he eyed flap, finally working up the courage to open it and read the contents.

Her familiar handwriting.

 _Hey Natsu,_

 _Sorry we won't be able to make it to your fight tonight, something came up. I'll see you soon though!_

 _I can't wait to be free. Just the two of us._

 _I love you._

 _\- Lucy_

Thumbing the words tenderly, Natsu closed his eyes. Images of

Lucy, bruised and blue beneath him plagued his mind, stripping any sense of peace he'd had.

Setting the paper down, Natsu slipped out the door, pushing any remaining thoughts from his mind.

He had a fight to get to.

…

He was off his game.

"This is too easy," his opponent growled.

Natsu was facing off against a burly giant. Dark skin seemed to stretch to its limit over such large muscles with long blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Black eyes focused on his every move, but in this moment were twinkling with arrogance.

"I thought I would be going up against the Salamander tonight," the guy boomed, throwing another punch at Natsu. This one to the gut sent him hurling back into the bungee cords. Stretching under his weight and the force, the ropes snapped back, sending him straight back at his opponent.

And into his fist.

Dry heaving his lack of stomach contents, Natsu managed to grit his teeth and respond to the guy.

"If I wasn't off my game today, you'd be ash by now," he croaked.

With an audible roll of the eyes, the giant tossed Natsu to the ground. Exhausted and haunted by the image of his love's lifeless form, he nearly closed his eyes to give up.

Pink, gold, blue and black flashed out of the corner of his eye.

Ears perked up, and mind suddenly alert, Natsu listened to the shouts of the spectators. He still hadn't gotten used to seeing them in seats around an enclosed ring. He'd spent so many years being thrown back at his opponents by people who wanted to see blood, it was still odd to him for them to not be close.

"Get him! C'mon Sally!"

Natsu jumped up onto his feet.

With a surge of adrenaline, Natsu came at the burly bastard, fists a-blazin'. Successions of punches and kicks, twists and dodges, blurred by so fast the guy barely had any time to react. He managed to block one or two, but the sheer amount of force behind Natsu triggering his pressure points left the man immobile.

Within seconds, the referee was calling a K.O. and raising Natsu's hand in victory. The crowd erupted in cheers, drowning out the voice coming from the speakers. Natsu could care less though, his eyes scanned the audience for the colours again.

Couldn't be what he'd thought.

Slightly deflated, Natsu forced a smile and went to step forward when his movements became restricted by a weight wrapping around his leg.

Twisting around to look down, all he could see was pink.

And his heart swelled.

Reaching down to pick up the small thing wrapped around his ankle, he suddenly forgot all about the dream. He forgot about what he'd done to Lucy, he forgot about the crowd surrounding him, he even forgot about the pain he was feeling—most likely a couple of broken ribs.

All he could focus on was the pink-haired, brown-eyed bouncing bundle of energy that was his beautiful daughter.

"SallyDaddy! SallyDaddy!" she giggled, waving her arms at her sides before lunging around her father's neck. Tears streaming down his cheeks, the larger pinkette wrapped his arms securely around the girl's small frame, holding her close.

"Nashi," he breathed.

"Daddy," she sighed, burying her face in his neck.

"She really missed you."

Eyes flying open, Natsu couldn't help the feeling that overwhelmed him.

A grin lighting up her features with golden hair framing her face and eyes alit with a joy he'd only seen when Nashi had been born, Natsu stood in awe of his beautiful wife. Like an angel, she'd flown back into his life when he'd needed her the most.

He closed the distance between them, claiming her lips. Ignoring the cat calls from the audience as he only drew her closer with a need that had been building within him for the past week.

He broke away.

"Thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow," Natsu breathed, resting his forehead against hers. Eyes half lidded, he glanced down at her.

"Yeah, well…I wanted to surprise you."

Nuzzling her nose, Natsu smiled, "Thank you, Lucy."

Lucy just kissed him chastely, "Anytime."

Their moment of course was interrupted.

" _Eeeeeeewwwwwww! Maaahmmy, Daddy staaahp!"_

Giggling, Lucy lifted Nashi from Natsu's arms, setting her on her hip. "Nashi, Mommy will kiss Daddy whenever she wants because she loves him. Okay?"

The little girl stuck out her lip, pouting as she crossed her arms. Even at the age of three she was the spitting image of Natsu, with nearly an identical personality to Lucy.

Securing an arm around Lucy's waist, Natsu led her to the stairs. He wanted to get out of this arena as soon as possible. After a week away from the two of them, all he wanted was to curl up next to her.

"C'mon, let's go."

…..

After laying Nashi down to go to sleep, Natsu and Lucy collapsed onto the couch. Laying her head against Natsu's chest, Lucy smiled, burrowing deeper.

"Jet lag?"

"Mmhm."

Running his fingers through her hair, it took him a minute before he noticed she'd been staring over his shoulder. He followed her gaze to find it directed at the freezer door.

It was open.

"Ah, shit." He mumbled, standing up. He shuffled over to the kitchen and pushed on the handle, a clink signalling that it had been closed. He didn't even want to think about the frost buildup that he was going to have to deal with tomorrow.

Rubbing his face, Natsu turned to head back toward the living room, but was stopped by two arms wrapping around his waist and a forehead pressing between his shoulder blades.

"You had that nightmare again, didn't you?"

His silence said it all.

Breathing out, Natsu planted his forearm against the fridge, leaning heavily onto it. Even if he hadn't just had the shit kicked out of him he would be exhausted. That dream always did it to him, no matter how many years had passed since it happened.

"You didn't do it," Lucy whispered, "it wasn't you."

She pressed her lips to the skin of his back, kissing all along his spine. He shuddered from the contact, his free hand coming down to intertwine his fingers with hers. Pushing away from the fridge gently, he turned to get a good look at her face.

Shining brown-amber eyes, full pink lips, flushed cheeks.

She was very much alive.

Wrapping his arms securely around her shoulders, Natsu rested his chin atop her head, breathing in her scent. Shivers ran down his back as she played with the end of his braid.

"So what kept you in Albaress for an extra day?" he asked. It was unlike her to extend her trip, especially without telling him before. Whatever had happened it must have been pretty important.

"I collapsed and got taken to the hospital."

Silence.

" _What!?"_

Natsu pulled away from her, hands running all over her body frantically, checking her for injuries.

"I thought the paralysis was gone!"

"It is!"

"I mean, Levy said that the tetradexyon—"

"Tetrodotoxin—"

"—can take a few years to wear off sometimes—"

"—which it _did—"_

 _"—_ but you've been okay for a year—"

"—and I still am—"

"—I don't underst—"

"Natsu!"

He stopped his pacing to look at her again.

She was glowing.

 _…wait._

"I hadn't had enough food because Nashi had me up early and I forgot to eat. I collapsed from dehydration and exhaustion."

Natsu breathed a sigh of relief and drew her into his chest again. Feeling her against him again…

He nipped at her neck playfully.

She giggled and pulled away, "But I've got something else to tell you."

Natsu raised an eyebrow in question.

"Dehydration wasn't the only thing they found."

Lucy could see Natsu start to panic again. Before he could, she grabbed his hand and rubbed her thumbs into the back of his hand, calming him slightly.

Flipping it over and spreading his fingers, she brought his palm to her lower stomach, sprawling it out over her belly button. Looking up to him, beaming, it was all Natsu could do to look at her incredulously.

"…but…"

"A miracle, Natsu."

The fact that she'd been able to have Nashi in itself was a miracle. Though the dose of Tetrodotoxin that Levy had given her to bite into when the time came was sublethal and ended up only slowing her cardiac and respiratory systems instead of killing her, it had really messed with Lucy's reproductive system.

So when she found out she was pregnant, the two of them couldn't believe it.

And now…

"Really?" he breathed, staring at her.

She nodded, "Yeah."

Breathless, Natsu picked her up and swung her around, laughing and kissing her over and over.

There was something about Natsu. Though he was a goof, and a dork, and often times very oblivious and dense—seems like an oxymoron in itself, right?—Natsu was an amazing father.

Unbelievably so, and he did anything and everything for his little girl.

"How far along?" he asked, setting her down. With her arms still wrapped around his neck, Natsu absently began rocking from one foot to the other. He'd done it so often with Nashi it was second nature to him now, even with Lucy.

"About eight weeks."

"Wow."

Resting her cheek to his chest, Lucy closed her eyes and rocked with him. They stayed like this for a few moments before they felt a tapping on their knees.

It was Nashi.

"Daddy, I wanna dance," she yawned, rubbing the sleep from one eye. Peeking up at them in a sleepy gaze, she reached up with her other arm for Natsu.

He picked her up gently, settling her on his chest between him and Lucy.

Natsu stared at the little girl as she sucked her thumb. Her cheek to his chest, pink hair fraying, eyes closed. She hummed as he swayed, a smile ghosting her features.

Lucy had grown a whole person.

She had endured the morning sickness. The cravings. The emotional mood swings that had left her a complete wreck. She had read countless books, modified her clothes…

But she had also jumped his bones every chance she got. She lit up at the kicks. She beamed at the ultrasounds. She read and sang to her as the time went on.

She housed this little life for nine months before working through hours of labor to push their daughter into the world.

"Lucy…"

She looked up at him, blinking. Wide shining eyes alit with the excitement and knowledge that their family was soon going to expand again. Words escaped his mind, slipping from his grasp as he sought them out…

Until he said the only ones he could really find.

"Thank you."

She cocked her head to one side, grinning wide. "For what, Natsu?"

His mind drifted back over the past years he'd had with her. Her singing, meeting her and having himself pushed up against an alley wall. The notes they passed back and forth to each other through the store clerk. Learning her name, hugging her when he was worried about where she'd disappeared to.

He thought about how patient and strong she was to wait for him for as long as she did when he gave her nothing to hold on to. The anger that she'd directed at him—that he thoroughly deserved and accepted—when they finally got back together. The love she showed him…

The day she'd said yes.

He watched their life together as it had happened, and couldn't find it in himself to only pinpoint a single thing to be thankful for.

"For everything Lucy," he breathed, resting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you, for everything."

* * *

 _And there you go! Thank you so much for all your reviews, I appreciate every single one._

 _Thank you for reading!_

 _-xinaidebenihime_


	6. Transformation (Bonus)

**_A/N:_** _Well, I thought I was done…but then this popped into my head and I couldn't_ not _write it, it was just too damn perfect._

 _And then I realized I had two days of Nalu Week left, and hell…why not write two bonus chapters? Not quite sure what to do for_ Wander _at the moment, but I'm sure I'll think of something._

 _Hope you like it. Again, thank you all so much for your support. It means the world._

 _ **Prompt:** __Transformation_

 _ **Word Count:** __2,099_

* * *

Natsu decided he didn't like Silver.

Sure, his hair was blue like his mother's.

But it had the exact same style as Gray's.

Yeah, his eyes were blue too—like his mother.

But they were the exact same shape as Gray's.

Hell…even his name! Deciding to name the kid after his father!

Natsu grumbled off in the corner of the room, arms crossed in front of his chest. When he and Lucy had been thinking about names for Nashi, they had agreed on Igneel should she have been a boy. They had decided that _years_ ago! It was no fair that Gray had beaten him to the punch first…and the proof of his loss was walking and talking and stripping around his freakin' hou—

 _Stripping?  
_

"Oh hell no!"

Caught in the unconscious act, Silver proceeded to freak out and pull the tropical floral shirt back on as Natsu chased him, lunging for the younger male. He could easily overpower and kick the kid out if he wanted to—he _was_ the reigning champion of Ishgar after all—but he really didn't want Gray out for his head, he only wanted to scare the kid.

Well…more than Gray, and even more than Lucy—if that was even possible—Natsu was afraid of what _she_ would do if he were to cause any harm to Silver.

Nashi.

Having taken more after her father than he'd anticipated, Nashi was an up and coming fighting star. Possessing all the raw talent and drive of her father, she'd begged Natsu to teach her since the age of five.

Natsu had started to train her on her tenth birthday, and six years later, she'd already won an array of matches against other various opponents—both male and female. He had no doubt that if she were to discover her boyfriend harmed in any way—at the hands of her father—he wouldn't be able to sleep safely for a month.

"Dad!"

Natsu stopped dead in his tracks.

The little shit had been right in his grasp!

Glancing over at Nashi, his movements ceased and he straightened up, heading back to his original spot in the corner of the living room. Silver would get off today, saved by the bell.

But damn if he didn't want to kick the shit out of that kid for stripping in his goddamn house.

It was then that Natsu noticed what Nashi was wearing.

"Oh hell no," he drawled for the second time, looking at Nashi's attire, "no way I'm letting you go out in that."

Nashi blinked, eyes narrowing, "What?"

"Go change." Natsu glared, straightening up.

"There is nothing wrong with wh—"

"Change, Nashi! _Now!"_

Nearly letting out a scream, the teen spun on her heel and stalked into her room, slamming the door behind her. Frustrated with the whole situation, Natsu rubbed his face, attempting to ease the pressure between his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"There was nothing wrong with what she was wearing," came a soft voice from behind him.

Natsu glanced down at the calm, smiling form of his life partner. Her fingers wrapped around his shoulder, easing his tense muscles and muffling his anger. Letting out a gush of air, Natsu leaned his head against the wall.

"That skirt was too short, her shirt was too low cut, and the amount of makeup she was wearing was ridiculous!" he protested, proceeding to bang his forehead against the wood.

Lucy laughed lightly, "You only say that because she's your little girl."

Groaning, he stared the his all-too-right mother of his child.

"Yeah, well," he muttered, eyes now closed, "she ain't so little anymore."

Guiding him into the kitchen where they could have a more private talk, Lucy sat Natsu down at the table, waiting for him to work through whatever was going through his mind. She never pried or tried to get more information out of him than he was willing to give.

Well…mostly never. There were extreme circumstances where she would do whatever it took to get answers from him. The last time that had happened…

He didn't even want to think about it.

His focus turned back to his teenage daughter.

Gone was her face, round with childlike youth. Her cheekbones were high, face shaped more like Lucy's and eyes slanted slightly like his. Gone was her look of adoration for him; replaced with a rebellious fire he knew all too well. She'd even began to develop curves a few years back, something that kept the boys a'callin' and triggered an instinct in Natsu to drive a fist through anyone who looked at his daughter like a slab of meat.

She had transformed from his little girl into a young woman before his very eyes, and the transition was more difficult on him that Natsu had expected it to be.

Sighing heavily, Natsu's head fell into his hands.

"Why couldn't she have just stayed my little girl?"

Coming up behind him and squeezing his shoulder, Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu from behind, kissing his neck.

"Because we raised her, and she's developing into an amazing young woman."

Silence passed through the room for a few more minutes before Lucy pulled back.

"Go talk to her."

Natsu shook his head, "She won't wanna talk to me—"

"Go _talk_ to her, Natsu."

He knew that tone.

Standing from his spot, Natsu kissed Lucy's cheek before wandering out into the living room and down the hall to the closed door. Painted flames licked the bottom and sides of her door; when she'd come home one day to a pink door, she'd nearly killed her brother. Contrary to popular belief, Nashi wasn't much for the colour pink, the only exception being her hair.

Knocking with the backs of his knuckles, Natsu waited for a response.

There wasn't one.

Repeating the action again, this time he was met with a very distinct, "Go away!"

Taking that as his cue, Natsu opened the door and let himself inside to a room that was definitely not one of the average teenage girl, but man did it suit his daughter perfectly.

Having used the walls of her room as a canvas, Nashi had painted her walls with blazing fire. Stretching halfway up the wall, the life she'd brought to the flames was almost haunting as they dissolved into a dark night sky. The main zodiac constellations decorated her ceiling, connected with a paint that could only be seen with the lights off.

Various art materials decorated her desk and a large easel stood in the corner. From her doorway Natsu couldn't make out what it was, but he could tell she was halfway done.

On the other side of her room was a punching bag. Hooks on the walls held various mitts, wraps and clothing that she used during training and her matches.

That she was currently using the punching bag with a picture of his face on it.

"Well that's a bit excessive," he muttered, " _and_ cliché."

Not turning to look at her father, Nashi spat at him. "Yeah, well…your face is cliché!"

Natsu had to hold back his laughter. Sometimes his daughter was more like him than Lucy, and when she was hurt and trying to find comebacks, she definitely took after him.

"Nashi—"

"Natsu."

The older pinkette sighed, entering her room and taking a spot behind the punching bag to steady it. Her hits were more effective if the bag wasn't moving—and man did she make it swing when she was angry.

Like she was now.

"Why—" grunt. "do you treat—" huff. "—me like—" growl. "—a baby?!"

Looking down at his feet, Natsu let go of the bag, catching his daughter's hands to stop her movements. Looking up at her father, Nashi was overwhelmed with a feeling she couldn't figure out. It was a flurry of different emotions that just seemed to meld together into one heap, one undistinguishable from the last.

She rested her head against his chest, tears falling from her cheeks.

"Nashi," Natsu began softly, "no matter how old you are, no matter how you change, no matter whether you get tattoos, or dye your hair…you are always going to be my baby girl, and I'm going to want to protect you from anything that can hurt you."

"But I'm _not_ little anymore," she cried, burying her face in his chest.

"I know," he rumbled, resting his cheek atop her head. "I don't mean to treat you like you are. It's an adjustment for me too, and something we're going to have to figure out as we go."

Natsu rested his hands on her shoulders, pushing him away from his chest to cradle her face. She really was the spitting image of Lucy sometimes, just with his eyes—though they were her colour.

"You are growing into an amazing young woman who has exceeded all my hopes and impressed me at every turn," he wiped the tears from her eyes. "And I can't wait to keep watching you grow."

Smoothing down her hair, Natsu kissed her forehead. Nashi always smelled like a campfire for a reason he could never figure out. It definitely wasn't her shampoo or fabric softener. It was a scent that was uniquely hers, though according to Lucy came from him.

"She gets that from you." Lucy had stated blatantly.

"Huh?"

Lucy cocked an eyebrow at him, "You know you smell like campfire, right?"

"I do?!"

It had been news to him.

"You're my beautiful baby girl. You always will be. That doesn't mean you aren't an amazing young woman who deserves to go have fun." He unwrapped the white fabric from her hands, retiring it to the hangers on the walls.

"Don't keep him waiting Nashi," he grinned.

She smiled up at him, breathing out a shuddering breath, all muscles in her body relaxing. A certain sense of serenity calmed her mind as she rummaged around in her drawers, disappeared into her bathroom, and came back out in a dress that was just as flattering as her previous outfit, but had coverage to Natsu's liking.

"Beautiful," he smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Following her out of her room, Natsu couldn't help but feel like he was losing her. She was growing up, and pretty soon she wouldn't want to spend time with him anymore. As much as he was proud of her independence and determination, there was still a part of him that wished for those eyes to look up at him from the ground again, begging to be picked up and hugged when she'd had a bad day at school, or wanted to dance until she fell asleep.

Watching as Silver took her hand, Natsu's gut sank as she left the house. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he flopped down onto the couch, sighing heavily.

"I feel like I'm losing her," he confessed. Though he hadn't seen her, Natsu could feel Lucy at his back, and true to his instincts, seconds later her hands were on his shoulders, working to release the tension in his muscles.

"I know it's hard," Lucy sounded just as lost as he was, "but it's part of being a parent. It just means we did a good job."

Head in his hands, Natsu swallowed hard.

"I can't believe the time flew by so fast."

"Me neither."

Natsu opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the door flying open and a fiery pink-haired teen crossing the room toward the two.

"Nashi…wha—"

Before he could even finish a thought, the girl threw her arms around her father, hugging him tight.

"I love you dad," she whispered.

Holding onto her tight, Natsu relished in energy she was giving him. Waves of care, adoration and acceptance seemed to seep from her and into his skin, similar to that which he gave her in return.

"You're growing up so fast," he murmured as she pulled away, beaming brightly. Leaning over, she kissed his cheek before dancing over to the door.

"Well…like you said dad.

"I'm always going to be your little girl."

Watching her fly out the door with a smile on her face, the thought that he could deal with all the changes happening with her crossed his mind. Maybe…just maybe he could get behind the whole him dating Silver thing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a pink and green Hawaiian shirt.

"Oh _hell no!_ "

Snatching the thing from behind the couch, Natsu bolted out the door after her.

" _NASHI!_ "

* * *

 _You guys are awesome! Hope you enjoyed this :)  
_ - _xinaidebenihime_


	7. Wander

**_A/N:_** _And here's the last of it. Thank you so much for your continued support. It means more than you know._

 _ **Prompt:** __Wander_

 ** _Word Count:_** _2,113_

* * *

"IGNEEL!"

The blonde-haired, thirteen year old boy's head snapped up at the sound of his older sister's frantic voice. Barreling down the driveway with a half-naked Silver in tow, Igneel didn't need to hear the shouting voice to know that the advancing heavy footsteps in pursuit of the two belonged to his father.

Shoving a bud into his ear, the young teen selected his newest playlist as he sidestepped Nashi. Breathing heavily, she spun 'round and grabbed both of his shoulders and shook him slightly.

"I need you to fend of dad for me."

Eyes narrowing and brow furrowed, Igneel grumbled, "Yeah? And what do I get for it?"

"I don't know!" Nashi glanced back down the hall, heart pounding with adrenaline, "Whatever you want! I'll do your chores for a week."

Igneel crossed his arms in front of his chest, "No."

"No?" she half-whined, "what do you _mean_ no?!"

"I mean, no." He said bluntly.

"Arrrgh," she groaned, frustrated, "of all the times to be stubborn, you choose _now?_ "

Looking down, slightly flushed, Igneel said softly, "I want you to teach me how to paint."

Shocked by the shy, tenderness in her brother's voice, Nashi smiled gently at her brother, "Of course I'll teach you how to paint."

Eyes alit with an excitement she hadn't seen in awhile, Igneel hugged her tight. Nashi returned the embrace briefly; pulling away as she heard the footfalls gain volume.

"Okay! Okay! Distract him _please_?"

Igneel nodded, "You got it."

Switching spots with them as they barreled down the hall in a blur, Igneel shoved his hands back in his pockets.

He'd always wanted to learn how to paint. Ever since he was little, he remembered watching his parents' eyes wander all over Nashi's canvas works. They fawned, they hung them up, they called her a prodigy in both artwork _and_ fighting.

And Igneel couldn't for the life of him figure out where he fit in in his own family.

He didn't feel like he could possibly be great at something, everything that seemed to have the slightest inkling of hope, was perfected by someone else. He just didn't seem to shine anywhere.

" _NASHI! I SWEAR TO GOD WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM I'M GUNNA—"_

Rounding the corner suddenly, Igneel's father toppled to the side, rolling onto the asphalt driveway. Blinking at the less than graceful landing, the blonde had to restrain himself from laughing.

"Igneel, which way did your sister go?" he huffed, clutching what must've been Silver's shirt in one hand.

The younger male just shrugged, "I dunno. Haven't seen her."

Groaning, Natsu picked himself up before trudging over to his son. Smiling down at the boy—but not by much…man was he getting tall—he rested a hand atop his head. Similar to that of his father, Igneel wore his long golden hair in a braid down his back.

"How you been today, kiddo?"

Igneel just shrugged again, "Alright."

He slipped past his father and headed into the house.

Left in the wake of his son, there was something that just didn't sit right with Natsu about his attitude. He'd always been introverted—preferring to have his nose in a book, much like his mother—but there was a relaxed contentment that tended to surround him. Today that was gone, and it rattled Natsu's nerves.

What had happened to upset Igneel?

Curious, but not wanting to pry too deep, Natsu waited a few minutes before following his son into the house. Knowing Igneel, and his usual state of mind and need for space, he knew that right now if there was any hope of him talking at all, it would need to be to Lucy.

Going to find his wife in the kitchen, Natsu snaked his arms around Lucy's waist, lips and teeth wrapping around the base of her neck. Nibbling lightly, Lucy shuddered as her husband pulled back a bit, setting a light kiss there.

Turning around, Lucy smiled, claiming the man's lips briefly.

Resting his forehead against hers, Natsu took a deep breath. "You need to go talk to Igneel."

Blinking at the suddenness of his statement, Lucy stared up at him quizzically, "What's wrong?"

Glancing in the direction of his son's room, Lucy regarded the thoughtful expression on Natsu's face. It was a worried look that he only sported when it came to their kids. Call it paternal instinct, but when it came to Nashi and Igneel, and something being up with them, he was always the first to pick up on it, and he was never wrong.

"I don't know," he rubbed his face, "there was just something surrounding him. I don't quite know what. But you need to go talk to him."

Nodding once, Lucy stole a kiss before gliding down the hall and up the stairs to her son's room.

His door was open a crack when Lucy approached it. Bringing up two knuckles, she tapped on the wood a few times before opening it a bit more with her palm.

"Igneel?"

He had his face buried in a book. Looking as completely enthralled as he did, Lucy wouldn't be surprised if her son was so oblivious to the world outside the book that he'd forgotten his own existence.

That was the extent to which the two of them adored novels.

Letting herself into his room, she sat down next to him on his bed, running her fingers through his hair as best she could. A few tendrils had escaped his braid, and she toyed with them to get a better look at his face.

Blinking, Igneel tore his gaze away from the page and looked up at his mother.

Brow furrowing, the blonde male stared up at his elder female counterpart. "…Hi mom…when did you get here?"

Lucy laughed lightly, cradling her son's face affectionately in her hand, "Just got here baby. Watchya readin'?"

Igneel closed the book over the thumb that marked his place.

 _E.N.D._

"Hm…" Lucy mulled over the title. "Don't think I've ever heard of that one before."

"I don't think you would," he muttered, returning his attention to the pages.

Upon closer inspection—cough, snooping over his shoulder, cough—Lucy saw why she had never read it before.

Double-spaced and bound to a leather cover, were hundreds of pages crinkled with the hand written word. Red markings and loose lined pieces of paper decorated with various character sketches and paragraphs made up a self-bound novel.

Staring at her son, Lucy gaped, "Igneel…are you writing a book?"

Returning his mother's gaze, Igneel flushed slightly before looking back down at the pages. Avoiding her stare, he attempted to hide the volume under his pillow, but Lucy caught his hand.

"Can I read?" she asked.

Fingers tightening around the leather, Igneel reluctantly handed the book over to his mother, biting his lip. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, averting his eyes from hers as she began to read.

After about fifteen minutes, Lucy handed it back to him.

Afraid to look up at his mother, Igneel was surprised when she drew him in for a hug.

"Oh baby, I am so jealous."

"…whaa?!"

Pulling back to stare at the goofy surprised look on his face—which was _so_ Natsu—Igneel was only met with an awe that had overcome his mother's features.

"I spent years trying to write a novel, but could never seem to really finish it. But you…" she looked toward where the book now sat, "you've managed to do it effortlessly before even going into high school."

Her eyes wandered over his features adoringly, brushing the hair from his eyes.

"My little author."

"Mooooooom!"

Igneel ducked away from his mom's hand, laughing as she then dove for his stomach with wiggling fingers. He keeled over from the torture, tears brewing and streaming down his cheeks.

Releasing her son from her fingers, Lucy lay down next to him, staring at his ceiling.

"Are you okay, Igneel? Your dad mentioned you didn't seem like yourself today."

Glancing over at his mother, Igneel sighed, covering his face with his arm.

"We handed out artworks for a class portfolio today. We had to print enough for all our classmates so we could critique each other."

"Yeah?"

Igneel nodded, though his mother couldn't currently see him.

"What did you submit?"

"A story."

Having no artistic talent whatsoever, Igneel could only channel his thoughts and ideas into a short story. While everyone else in his class seemed so be freakin' Leonardo Da Vinci, or Van Gogh, he was like a two year old drawing on a wall. After having spoken to his teacher about the predicament, she'd agreed to allow him to write a story instead with a few set parameters.

Having made the suggestion, a few more individuals in the class had decided they wanted to do the same. Happy that his idea seemed to be one that others besides him would enjoy, he'd been excited for the feedback that they were all supposed to give out to their favourite five pieces.

But he hadn't gotten even one.

"Teachers are so cruel," Lucy sighed, remembering her own struggles back in grade school, "giving out assignments that purposely put students in a situation where they can be excluded. Even unintentionally."

"I don't know…it's just…sometimes I wish I could be like, Nashi," he confessed, hiding once again in the crook of his arm. "She's so talented and her artworks are all over the school with so much praise, and here I am just…writing."

Sitting up and kneeling down in front of her son, Lucy took his hands and adopted a very serious expression.

"Igneel Dragneel," she started, "any sort of artistry takes lots of work and practice. Though a lot of people often have a natural talent for certain things, that doesn't mean that through sheer will and dedication one cannot become skilled in many different ways.

"While these students who's works everyone fawns over were honing their skills daily on canvases, in the corners of their worksheets, or on a computer…you were doing the same."

He gave her an odd look then. He'd never drawn…what was she talking about?

"You were working on your writing skills," she smiled, reaching for and holding the leather tome in her hands. "You and your classmates are exactly the same."

She handed the book back to him.

"You just have different mediums of expression."

Looking down at his mother, Igneel smiled softly before leaning into the crook of her neck. Pulling the hairband to release his locks, Lucy ran her fingers through them the way she knew her two boys adored.

Though a lot of the time they would never admit it.

"Just because what you can do is different, doesn't mean that it doesn't take _just_ as much talent. It doesn't mean that you aren't amazing at what you do," she continued, massaging his scalp with her nails.

"Your sister and you are two sides of the same coin. She expresses herself by creating pictures with paint, and you express yourself by creating pictures with words."

Holding him tight, Lucy sighed contentedly. "Don't doubt yourself, Igneel. Different isn't the definition of bad."

…..

The next day—nose stuck in a book—Igneel almost knocked over a girl from his class as he turned the corner to head to his desk.

Flustered, he went to apologize but could only manage to stammer when he saw who it was.

Staring at the girl with scarlet hair pulled back into a ponytail, and bangs brushed to the side to reveal a red tattoo—which was a birth mark if you could believe it—Igneel found himself at a loss for words as he stared at the girl.

Smiling at him stumbling over his words, the girl just held out a piece of paper to him.

"I meant to give this to you yesterday, but you left so suddenly I didn't get a chance."

Taking the cardstock hesitantly, Igneel watched as she sauntered past him and out into the hall.

Finding himself alone in the room—the bell had rung for lunch—Igneel unfolded the note, his gut doing a somersault as he took in the words.

 _I loved all the art, but there was something about what you wrote that I just can't get out of my head._

The grin that overtook his features was so large his face began to hurt.

Beneath his thumb were a few more words.

 _I'll be waiting for what comes next._

Holding the note tightly, Igneel closed his eyes and let the elation wash over him.

And then he grabbed a pen.

* * *

 _Alright, that's it for Nalu week. Thanks so much for all who have read/reviewed/liked this story. Your words mean a lot and I'm excited for you guys to read the next thing I whip up!_

 _-xinaidebenihime_


End file.
